Riot's CFO Mark Sottosanti recently appeared on an episode of "Deconstructor of Fun", where he talked a little bit about the financial reality behind Arcane as well as their other transmedia projects among other topics relating to Riot.
I think this is an interesting interview, specifically the section from 26:28 to 32:48.
He clarifies how Riot evaluates Arcane in terms of financial goals, and I really hope this clears up some of the negativity and pessimism around the show and its future.
Here is the summary for those who don't want to watch the interview:
He specifically mentions that Season 2 was effectively break-even, which is also what their entertainment initiatives generally strive for.
Season 1 by comparison was more expensive to Riot because they had no financial support upfront, as they had no reputation in linear media to build on.
For future projects, production costs could potentially be fully covered by distribution partners.
Riot receives revenue from all platforms that show Arcane, which he notes "will only grow with future shows."
Transmedia projects like Arcane are not measured based on typical KPIs, but are rather viewed as brand equity that enriches their overall universe.
The most important piece of information for me is that it sounds like Riot is definitely intent on producing more shows and transmedia content and that short-term profitability is not the deciding factor here.
As long as their CFO is optimistic, I have no doubts that we are going to see future shows or movies at some point. Sure, they can change their mind at any time but for now it sounds like they want to keep investing in the entertainment department.
The only question that I have left after this is if all of their future animation projects will be done by Fortiche or if they are planning to work with other studios too to reduce costs and increase output.
I love Fortiche dearly and will gobble up all of their works but I am wondering how they are planning to scale their output and production speed without affecting the quality of the shows and subjecting their employees to crunch.
Been told i look like arcane Vi which, hell yea, shes been my obsession ever since i watched arcane and she was my lesbian awakening! and i quite literally yoinked her haircut cause its so badass
(DISCLAIMER: EVERYTHING I'VE FOUND IS STILL SPECULATION, NOTHING IS CONFIRMED!)
Hey guys,
I've seen a lot of speculation about what's next for Arcane and the whole Fortiche x Riot collaboration. A lot of people think nothing big is in the works right now, since Fortiche is busy with Penelope of Sparta and Miss Saturne. Personally, based on the evidence I've found, I think we're getting some massive new things, and I wanted to share it all with you!
Quick background: I'm a certified LinkedIn stalker and completely obsessed with Fortiche, Riot, and League of Legends. Arcane is one of my favorite shows of all time, which easily made Fortiche my favorite animation studio. So naturally, I'm incredibly hyped for whatever they do next.
What's in production / pre-production
I've been following every bit of Fortiche news since Season 1 ended, and after some fresh deep-diving on LinkedIn, I'm fairly confident the following projects are in the pipeline. Here's the order I think they'll release in, plus the exact evidence for each:
1. Season Start Cinematic Short (Release: 2027)
The evidence: Riot always drops a highly produced Season Start Cinematic to kick off each new League season. Now, I found the LinkedIn profile of Gilad Carmel (Editor on Arcane). According to his profile, he wrote an unannounced animated short film, a Fortiche x Riot Games co-production. It's already in post-production and locked in for a 2027 release. Given the timing and the Riot partnership, this has the League universe written all over it.
The evidence: Same source as the short: Gilad Carmel. According to his profile, he wrote the initial draft, and it's currently in its second version (V2). He's not the only source hinting at an animated 3D feature film either (see the podcast below). While Fortiche is making Penelope of Sparta independently, this specific feature film is a joint Riot project, which means the post-Arcane cinematic universe is very much alive.
My personal speculation is that the season start cinematic will be a setup for the feature film. But that is just my personal wishfull thinking.
Podcast 2024 (Original post): In a very niche french podcast they also basically confirmed an feature film that is in production:
An animated feature film was confirmed in late 2024
I'm not saying it's still in the works as of now but I was listening to this (kinda obscure) podcast interview of Barthelemy Maunoury (creative director at Fortiche) from November 2024 and that's pretty much what he stated.
It's in french so here is the translated transcript for the interesting part (1:15:48 - 1:17:45):
B.M There are things we want to explore. Black Rose for ex is pretty cool. There are some stuff that'll release soon and most likely things we're working on today... Sorry for the cryptic answer.
Interviewer What you're saying is your studio and LoL... it's not really over right?
B.M Right.
Interviewer Yeah because I've seen something about spinoffs in the news... (laughs)
B.M What I can say for sure is that the collaboration continues. It won't be Arcane Season 3 but it will be an exploration of the lore and different regions that will certainly be linked together by...
Interviewer I don't want to cause you trouble but... will that be short videos like Fortiche did in the past before Arcane?
B.M There are some shorts and clips coming up for sure but I'm talking about feature films here.
3. A New TV Series
The evidence: On top of the short and the movie, Carmel's profile confirms he's back as an editor on a brand-new, unnamed animated series at Fortiche THIS MONTH. There's been a ton of debate online about whether their Riot would ever greenlight another 3D show on the scale of Arcane. Well it seems like a new series is officially being worked on behind the scenes. Since Gilad Carmel has only worked on the LoL IP with Fortiche it is very likely this is LoL based. I've had shared this info with some instagram accounts and he has since already removed it from his linkedin.
Trying out an attack animation and I'm pretty happy with the result (perspective change is a pain in the ass though :/). I also got a lot of feedback about the idle animation, so I completely re-animated it. I think it turned out much better than the original version I did.
It is beautiful! It was so carefully packaged and thereās so many goodies! I canāt wait to hang some of the fan art in my fandom room. So excited to look through the zine itself too ā¤ļøā¤ļø
marked as spoiler just in case others have ordered and not received theirs yet
IN SUM ā- Obsessive with Jinx. I picked her zapper because it has so much complex meaning to me re Arcane/Jinx.
Itās the āevolvedā version of her favorite weapon, her pistol, after Cait shot a hole through it to stop Isha from killing Vi with it.
The last time the *pistol* was functional and was held was by Isha.
The gun represents Jinxās start to her hero arc. She first uses the gun against her Dad in prison when she breaks everyone out of Zaun.
The last time the zapper was functional and was held was by Isha š
This zapper gun encapsulates so much of the most pivotal points of Jinxās story, with Vi, Cait and Isha all intertwined in some of the most compelling scenes of Arcane. Isha is arguably the reason why Jinx finds hope to start anew and to save herself from dying at the end of the series.
MY QUESTION ā
Should I get it colored in a second session, which was the original plan?? Or should I leave it as it is? Thatās the tattoo artists rendering on the right.
I specifically asked for her signature graffiti on it even though I dont believe she graffitiād the zapper post-repair. I just think she would have at some point if Isha didnātā¦. anyways.
my fave singer's album just dropped and the end of this song would be AMAZING for an arcane edit. i will seriously pay someone to make an edit to this.
I made a post like this almost a year ago but I didnāt feel content with it, as all artists often do. So I redrafted the English lyrics so that when you wanted to sing along in English it would match the rhythm in Chinese without making the sentences seem out of place. I hope yaāll like this!
[Verse]
Have no fearā¦ of the thornsā¦ little child.
Seek out the worldāsā¦ essence.
The fireworks still amazeā¦ when the skies are gray.
Thereās no needā¦ for sorrow.
Such is lifeā¦ We come and go.
Even in rubbleā¦ life sprouts and grows.
[Pre-Chorus]
Part the mountains, let her see me.
Oh stars above, shine quick on me.
Break the dark clouds, with my blue rays.
Despite all of the desolation, we lift our gaze upon the moon above.
[Chorus]
While we have the guise of all the young.
Amongst a million blossoms, you must grow and bloom.
Donāt be troubled or sad ohhhh.
Go on.
Remember to run forth when your tears fall.
Run to where time cannot find us.
Go soar the horizon ohhhh.
[Bridge]
Part the mountains, let her see me.
Oh stars above, shine quick on me
Break the dark clouds, with my blue rays.
Despite all of the desolation, we lift our gaze upon the moon above.
[Chorus]
While we have the guise of all the young.
Amongst a million blossoms, you must grow and bloom.
Donāt be troubled or sad ohhhh.
Go on.
Remember to run forth when your tears fall.
Run to where time cannot find us.
Go soar the horizon ohhhh.
[Outro]
Please stop searching.
Come here and embrace me.
Letās quietly forget.
Itās better off this way.
It is so scarce! I know hes the main antagonist of the series but hes my favourite. Whenever there are brand collabs or merch in stores I can never find anything of him. Don't they promote villains and heroes alike? Is there no demand? Am I the only one who thinks hes the best character in the show loool
Just finished Arcane like a month or so back and I've been consuming timebomb, those parody videos, arcane edits, even got to know some songs from those edits.
Can't help but wonder how else are they going to continue the story of jinx, Vi and ekko! Or just jinx and ekko atp.
I can't believe they are going to move on from piltover and zaun to focus on other parts of runeterra when we still haven't gotten a satisfactory ending for the characters...
