Mastercard Signs A Game-Changing Deal With Riot Games’ League Of Legends

What happens when one of the world’s biggest companies steps in as a global partner for one of the world’s biggest online game title?

It’s global acceptance, as the world of esports just got much bigger, with the recent tie-up between Mastercard and League of Legends, as the first global partner for the esports game.

This elevates esports as more than just a niche market, only attended by snotty nosed children or adults that live in their parents’ basement. Yet, the market has changed and the thousands watching the opening ceremony of the League of Legends 2017 World Championship tell another tale. With elaborate performances involving an impressive amount of dancers, fireworks, Taiwan superstar Jay Chou, and an augmented reality dragon, esports is nothing to laugh at.

Mastercard recognised this and saw an opportunity to collaborate with Riot Games, the company behind League of Legends. It wasn’t a small decision on the part of Mastercard. There are many other esports games in the world, like Counter-Strike or Super Smash Bros., so why League of Legends?

In a press conference, Mastercard said it saw how huge the market is and how involved the fans are.

“Esports is a phenomenon that continues to grow in popularity, with fans that can rival those at any major sporting event in their enthusiasm and energy,” said Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing and communications officer of Mastercard.

“Our Priceless platform is built around connecting with people through their passions. We are excited about the experiences and benefits we can bring to the world’s largest esport – both in-game and to the millions of League of Legends fans that watch and attend the tournaments each year.”

This isn’t Mastercard’s first foray into fan-centric experiences. They collaborated with other sports tournaments, like Rugby World Cup and PGA Tour, and they’re planning on bringing that exact same philosophy into esports.

It should be noted that Riot Games has been plagued with allegations of sexual misconducts and sexism in the workplace, making this collaboration a rather interesting move by Mastercard. Kotaku released a story detailing the rampant sexism at the company and just recently, two long-time employees of Riot Games, Daniel Z. Klein and Mattias Lehman, ended their employment with the company after a recent controversy with a PAX West panel held by Riot Games.

Klein and Lehman are both very outspoken about the problems within the company, showing support for the marginalised voices, both in the company and in the gaming community. Though not made especially clear, the timing suggests that these two no longer works at Riot Games because of that support.

Rajmannar assured us that they had long discussions with Riot Games about this, and plans are being made to address the situation.

“We had a conversation with Riot Games, and we have seen their action plans. We’re very serious about it,” Rajmannar said.

“We are a company with a high level of integrity and we expect that from our partners as well.”

With Mastercard putting the pressure on them, Riot Games might actually do what must be done to solve its problems. In a time where most brands would stay out of such business, Mastercard decided to go all in. It could just be the push that Riot Games needs to once and for all clean up their act.

The collaborations between Mastercard and Riot Games will start this October with the live-event activations at the Leauge of Legends World Championship. There will be three experiences, as they call it, on Mastercard’s Priceless.com:

• Opening ceremony rehearsal viewing and a behind-the-scenes tour
• Opportunity to watch a game with a League of Legends pro player from VIP seats
• Test gaming PCs the pros will compete on during the World Championship final

These three Priceless Experiences are already available for  Mastercard cardholders across three markets in Asia Pacific – Korea, Taiwan, and China. Eventually, they will roll out more promotions and ticketing programs globally. Mastercard also hopes to bring other League of Legends branded items to specific markets later on in 2019. Maybe a League of Legends credit card?