Marc Merrill Takes on New Role as Chief Product Officer at Riot Games

Riot Games :

LOS ANGELES - NOVEMBER 29, 2023 - Riot Games, the developer and publisher known for League of Legends (League) and VALORANT, announced today that Riot’s Co-Founder and former Co-CEO Marc Merrill will oversee the ecosystems of all products at Riot Games in the newly established role of Chief Product Officer (CPO).

As CPO, Marc will lead the vision for the ecosystems surrounding each game while helping solidify the future paths of League, VALORANT, Teamfight Tactics, Wild Rift, Legends of Runeterra, and Research and Development (R&D) at Riot. Reporting to CEO Dylan Jadeja, he will once again be responsible for aligning the broader product strategy and ensuring that gameplay, esports, and entertainment experiences across all titles are aligned to drive the most impactful and resonant outcomes for players.

“In this next chapter for Riot, our goal is to double-down on our mission for players and to continue our evolution from delivering games as a service to bringing games as an experience to players,” said Jadeja. “Marc is incredibly well suited to drive this improved orientation and focus on behalf of players. He helped build this place from the ground up, and he’s been hands-on in making our mission a reality for years. He cares deeply about who we are and what we mean to players and has a nuanced understanding of what resonates across our products. Most importantly, Marc shares our strategic vision to unify games, esports, and entertainment into an experience for players that transcends the sum of their parts. We wouldn’t be the Company we are today without his leadership, and I am honored and excited to have him step into this critical role.” 

The new role will fortify Riot’s product strategy for the future after an expansion of products at Riot over the last five years, with the launch of games in the shooter and strategy genres, expansion into mobile, as well as the Emmy Award-winning animated series Arcane. Marc’s experience and player-first philosophy position him uniquely to help steer Riot's audience orientation, ensuring the authenticity of the narrative and player-focused gameplay across all titles and products continue to evolve, engaging players in novel and rewarding ways.

“I’m excited by the opportunity to help Riot deliver really special experiences to players,” stated Merrill. “In a world full of amazing entertainment options, players want games that are truly great, and that’s what we aspire to create.”

Before being named CPO, Marc was most recently the President of the Games Pillar at Riot, where he worked closely with game leaders on the overall strategy behind Riot’s games portfolio. Since co-founding Riot in 2006, Marc has played a variety of critical leadership roles, including as Riot’s first President and first Executive Producer of League of Legends and subsequently became Co-CEO. He was instrumental in the formation of Riot’s Esports and entertainment efforts and today is Co-Chairman of Riot’s Board alongside fellow co-founder Brandon Beck. 

A native of Los Angeles, Marc has not only been instrumental in the foundation of Riot and League of Legends, he also has served as an executive producer on Arcane, sits on the boards of several non-profits including being the Co-Chair of Unite America, and worked with SoLa Impact to fund the buildout and operation of SoLa’s Technology and Entrepreneurship Center aimed at inspiring the next generation of Black and Brown game developers, esports athletes, technology professionals, leaders, and entrepreneurs—all free of charge to South LA residents. Marc and his wife, Ashley, have been married for 14 years and have two children.

ABOUT RIOT 

Riot Games was founded in 2006 to develop, publish, and support the most player-focused games in the world. In 2009, Riot released its debut title, League of Legends, to worldwide acclaim. League has gone on to be the most-played PC game in the world and a key driver of the explosive growth of esports. 

With League in its second decade, Riot is continuing to evolve the game while delivering new experiences to players with Teamfight Tactics, Legends of Runeterra, VALORANT, League of Legends: Wild Rift, and multiple work-in-progress titles. In addition, Riot Forge gives developers access to Riot’s IP to create games like Ruined King and plenty of other adventures across Runeterra. Riot is also expanding the world of Runeterra through multimedia projects across music, comic books, board games, and Arcane, its popular animated series.

The annual League of Legends World Championship features qualified esports teams from 12 international leagues. Worlds is the most widely viewed and followed esport tournament, and it is among the largest and most popular gaming and sporting events in the world. 

Founded by Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill, and led by CEO Nicolo Laurent, Riot is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, and has 3,000+ Rioters in 20+ offices worldwide.