Causal Essay: League of Legends's Formula for Success

Last year, over thirty million people watched the League of Legends world championship, surpassing the viewership of the NBA finals. Every day, over thirty million people play League of Legends. Its immense popularity is indisputable, and has even netted the game attention from prestigious publications such as Forbes and the New York Times, yet merely five years ago, the game was still in its beta phases, with a player base of hundreds. How could a game have gone from unheard of to rivaling established sports in popularity in a matter of five years? Simply put, in order to rise in popularity, a game must be able to attract new players and retain current ones. League of Legends, through various means, has been able to effectively do both. 

League of Legends has very little barrier to entry, allowing nearly all people with an internet connection and functional computer to try the game. While many games require either a particular console or exceptionally powerful computer, League of Legends is available on virtually all Windows and Macintosh computers. Crucially, as with many popular mobile apps, the game is free. People are generally more hesitant when it comes to trying paid games and apps, and for good reason. If the software is good, nothing is lost, but if not, money is essentially wasted. Though reviews certainly alleviate this risk, what classifies as good varies from person to person, as is evidenced by the existence of many genres that tailor to different individuals with different preferences. While purchasing games can be a gamble, experimenting with free ones is risk free. Since the inception and subsequent success of League of Legends, many apps and games have adopted the now notorious freemium model, a highly profitable model comprised of free to download software accompanied by tempting purchases. Besides being easy to acquire, League of Legends has a user interface and game complexity simple enough for new players to not feel lost. No one enjoys confusion, and it can be a major deterrent to engaging in new activities. The simplicity of League of Legends makes it quite beginner-friendly.

Aside from having little barrier to entry, League of Legends is designed in a way that facilitates interaction with friends. A team game at its core, it benefits from coordination and cooperation. Players can invite friends to play along with them, which often results in a more enjoyable experience. Given this, it would be likely for those already playing to inform their friends of the game and encourage them to try it out. I was introduced to League of Legends through a friend and know this experience is not unique. 

Yet another aspect of League of Legends that allowed it to attract so many players is its variety. Countless genres of books and movies have emerged to satisfy demand as different people enjoy different types of books and movies. Usually, the population is divided in that not everyone is fond of every genre, yet League of Legends manages to avoid this fragmentation,at least to some extent, by offering various maps, game modes, and characters to choose from, with basically something for everyone. 

The competitive aspect of League of Legends is one that serves as an attraction and keeps players interested. We play sports not only for the physical exercise, but also for the competition. Some say all that matters is having fun, but in reality, winning feels far better than losing, and gives a sense of accomplishment. League of Legends manages to create a competitive environment via a ranking system. In short, winning games grants players points, while losing deducts points. Based on the amount of points accrued, players are ranked into divisions and tiers. At the end of a so called season, rewards corresponding to achieved tier are distributed.  

The ranked ladder for one of the many platinum divisions is pictured above. Much like the chess elo system, the ladder system ranks players based on calculated skill determined by the number of wins and losses as well as the ranking of opponents. Without this system, players would far more quickly lose interest and stop playing. However, in the status quo, each game has some degree of significance. As shown above, there are opportunities for promotion to the next rank, which give players a goal to strive towards and consequently keep them interested. Each subsequent win, then, gives a sense of progress towards that goal, with achievement netting a sense of accomplishment magnified by the fact rankings are public and correspond to a known percentage of the playerbase. Advance to the next rank is not the end, however, as each rank has one above it, with the largely irrelevant exception of highest one, which houses less than .1% of all players. As a result, the pursuit of a higher ranking creates a cycle that resets with each division successfully reached.

While some may point to apps or games that despite sharing some features with League of Legends, did not become nearly as popular and therefore the aforementioned features are not responsible for the game's popularity, League of Legends's popularity is not the result of any particular isolated feature, but rather a combination of several. For instance, players would not be able to introduce friends into the game nearly as well if the game were not free or if it were overwhelmingly complex. Likewise, free-to-play availability in and of itself is insufficient given the sheer number of free games available. Few games share all of League of Legends’s features, but a notable few that do have enjoyed great success. Both Quiz Up and Trivia Crack are free, available on nearly all mobile devices, have some form of ranking system, possess variety, and are more enjoyable when played with friends. Correlation does not necessarily indicate causation, but when several successful games share certain characteristics, those characteristics probably contributed to popularity.

League of Legends's immense success has created a formula of sorts for games to come - one that allows games to attract a player base and retain it. Those already playing notify friends of the game, who then begin playing due to a combination of low barrier to entry, competition, and being able to find something appealing, which results from variety. The competitive aspect serves a much larger role in allowing the game to maintain its playerbase. Players aspire to rank higher, and succeeding provides a tangible sense of progress. In other words, competition in games gives players reason to continue playing other than mere entertainment.