Riot Games is partnering up with stock image supplier Getty Images for several upcoming League of Legends events. Getty Images will be the official photo image and distribution partner for The World Championship, Mid-Season Invitational, and the All-Star Event. The arrangement is expected to last until 2024 and will work to provide a wide range of images for fans unable to make it to events in person. The first event that Getty images will cover is expected to be the 2020 World Championship in China later in 2020.
Getty Images Becomes Official Photo Image and Distribution Partner of @LeagueOfLegends Global Esports Events:
➡️ https://t.co/bxR218ixme pic.twitter.com/hpmgpdWr8U
— LoL Esports (@lolesports) July 13, 2020
Getty Images will also be licensing images from past League of Legends events. Some of the images that will be available include shots from the first World Championship from back in 2011. As part of the League of Legends Global Esports Collection, images from the 2016 and 2017 Worlds events will also be available. 2019’s World Championship Final is already available via Getty Images.
Riot is working to bring League of Legends to a bigger audience
League of Legends’ dominance in the esports community has continued since its formation in 2011. As League continues to grow, Riot Games needed an image hosting site that could match its growth. In a statement to press, Naz Aletaha, Riot Games Esports head of global partnerships, said, “Getty Images has been the premier source of sports photography for more than 25 years. We are thrilled to have League of Legends Esports images discoverable in their library alongside the best in sports, music, and entertainment.”
Getty Images also expressed their excitement in working with Riot Games and the League of Legends esports scene. Carmin Romanelli, Getty Images global vice president of sports business development detailed how Getty Images can bring League events to the world and said, “Getty Images is uniquely positioned to partner with video game publishers and esports leagues to leverage our expertise in the creation, distribution and management of industry-leading visual content for media, governing bodies, and the vital ecosystem of commercial partners and licensees that support them.”
Covering major events is nothing new for Getty Images. The image supplier is partnered with more than 80 major sports organizations worldwide. League of Legends is not the first esports game that Getty Images has partnered with. The all women’s simulation league, the W Series championships and Gran Turismo publishers Polyphony Digital Inc. are partnered as well.
