League of Legends was made by Riot Games, a company co-founded by Brandon "Ryze" Beck and Marc "Tryndamere" Merrill in 2006. Beck and Merrill were USC roommates who bonded over playing DotA (Defense of the Ancients), a Warcraft III mod. They started building LoL in late 2005 and launched the game on October 27, 2009.
Beyond the founders, several key developers shaped LoL's early design:
- Steve "Guinsoo" Feak - Game Designer who previously maintained DotA Allstars (the mod that directly inspired LoL). Feak designed or co-designed 29 of the original champions, and the item Guinsoo's Rageblade is named after him.
- Steve "Pendragon" Mescon - Director of Community Relations. He ran DotA-Allstars.com, the largest DotA community hub, for over four years before joining Riot.
- Tom "Zileas" Cadwell - Came from Blizzard, where he worked on World of Warcraft's talent system and Warcraft III balance. He co-designed early champions like Annie and Ashe and built the Tribunal system.
Riot Games is fully owned by Tencent, a Chinese technology company. Tencent acquired a majority stake in February 2011 and completed the full acquisition in December 2015. Beck and Merrill remain at Riot as Co-Chairmen. League of Legends is a MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) with 172 champions as of 2026.
