Jack Wagner, Editor

“Arcane,” a hit animated series released by Netflix in partnership with Riot Games, is officially the most expensive animated show ever released.

According to a report by Variety, it cost approximately $250 million to produce and promote all 18 episodes of the show. This boils down to roughly $14 million per episode. The report also mentions that the series was seemingly originally budgeted for a five-season arc, but costs forced the showrunners to end it after only two seasons. Some have commented that the show was so expensive due to Riot Games’s inexperience in Hollywood.

Riot Games, which owns the game “League of Legends” that “Arcane” is based on, has had previous missteps in their foray into the entertainment industry. The Variety report also details a deal that the company had made with the Russo brothers, known for directing four Marvel movies, in 2020 to develop a film set in the “League of Legends” universe. However, due to a poorly designed agreement, Riot Games was forced to pay the Russo brothers $5 million when they split due to creative differences.

However, some at Riot Games have come out to defend the expense.

“The ‘lol @ the cost’ of Arcane arguments are silly from our perspective,” said Riot co-founder and chief product officer Marc Merrill in a Reddit post. “People have correctly pointed out the cost per minute of Arcane is about 1/3 to 1/4 of what Illumination / Pixar films cost.”

Merrill also commented that “Arcane was always meant to be two seasons. The confusion is because internally there was a budget conversation about ‘approving 5 seasons’ – which simply means we were setting aside a bunch of money for lots of development and is completely irrelevant to the Arcane creative.”

Arcane season one was a massive critical success. The show won multiple primetime Emmy awards including “Outstanding Animated Program,” “Outstanding Sound Editing For A Comedy Or Drama Series (Half-Hour) And Animation,” and several “Outstanding Individual Achievement In Animation” awards.

Season one also holds a 100% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, as well as a 96% audience score.

IGN said it was a “once-in-a-generation masterpiece that is sure to inspire both fans and storytellers alike for years to come.” TIME Magazine also said it had “transcendent animation.”

The reactions to season two so far have also been largely positive, with it also holding a 100% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.

“Arcane” also seems to be serving as an effective advertisement for “League of Legends.” According to an article on thespike.gg, a website focused on competitive esports news, “League of Legends” reached an all-time player high of 14 million concurrent players and 180 million total players across League related games. 

It still remains to be seen if “Arcane” season two will reach the heights of success that season one did, or if the investment will be worth it to Riot Games. What is certain is that the show is a unique milestone in animation and Riot Games is not done with its entertainment efforts.