Riot Games has announced a new company president, Hoby Darling.
League of Legends players expressed uncertainty about whether Darling is the right fit to bring about changes in the company regarding marketing and microtransactions.
Hoby Darling has spent most of his career in the sports and tech industries, focused on creativity and performance. This includes senior leadership roles at Logitech, Skullcandy/Astro Gaming, Volcom and Nike, according to a press release from Riot Games. At these companies, Darling spent a lot of time merging genres and bringing in athletes and creators to grow brands globally.
“The first time I walked into Riot, I felt a scrappy, soulful, and courageous energy I knew I needed to be a part of. I’ve worked with a lot of companies, and there’s something special about a place that takes risks, challenges convention, and stays fiercely committed to its mission,” Darling stated.
“Riot has a long history of creating experiences that truly matter to players, and I couldn’t be more excited to work alongside passionate Rioters who push each other to do their best work every day.”
League of Legends Players Doubt Hoby Darling as President
When the change in leadership was announced, CEO Dylan Jadeja praised Darling, noting that he would bring out the company’s ‘creativity’ and ‘focus.’ However, the League of Legends community has been skeptical since Darling stepped up just a day ago.
On a Reddit forum discussing the change, gamers found it hard to believe that someone who worked at Nike and Skullcandy had the gaming and esports knowledge to lead Riot Games. Others were weary of his strong marketing background, with one Redditor stating: “Dude sounds like a textbook marketer. They’re probably going to keep pushing revenue growth as usual. He sounds like he’s involved in ad integrations. Aka they’re gonna milk the game dry. Probably a less intrusive way but still going to milk it.”
Other gamers looked Darling up and found that he talked about CrossFit a lot, leading to a lot of ‘gym bro’ accusations.
Not a lot of gamers had a positive outlook on Darling being appointed as president of Riot Games, but only time will tell if the decision has any impact on Riot’s games and their communities, good or bad.
