Is League of Legends dying? Not quite it seems…

Many YouTubers, redditors and gaming journalists would have you believe that League of Legends is dying a slow death. However, we’ve found that might not necessarily be the case.

Since its initial release in 2009, Riot Games has built up a solid and loyal fanbase for LoL, its flagship MOBA game. While there is an argument that its popularity has plateaued in recent years, its numbers definitely don’t appear to be dwindling.

• There is a strong narrative that League is dying
• The facts suggest that isn’t the case
• The current player base is just over 130 million
• This is less than the all-time peak (154 million in August 2023)
• The number of daily players in February 2024 was 38 million
• LoL Worlds is one of the highest-grossing esports competitions
• The 2024 finals will be held in the O2 Arena in London
• The LoL Worlds 2023 prize pool was $ 2,225,000
• LoL esports tournament sponsors include Mercedes-Benz, Red Bull and Louis Vuitton

Is LoL dying? Not by a longshot

The narrative that League of Legends is dying is a fairly common one that gains a lot of traction and stirs up some debate. While we’ve found the contrary to be true here at Strafe, claims that its popularity is dwindling are not entirely unfounded.

The daily number of LoL players hit a four-year high last month

Looking at the numbers, the active player base is currently 132 million, with the peak number of daily players hitting 38 million last month (February 2024). As we reported here at Strafe, this marks a four-year high.

That certainly doesn’t seem to show that League is dying now, does it? 

However, since May 2020, there hasn’t been significant growth in terms of the active player base numbers. Therefore, it appears that while Riot Games has been very successful in player retention, it hasn’t excelled in attracting new players to the game.

The impact of Valorant’s success on LoL

Some have argued that LoL has been a victim of the success of Riot Games’ other titles, most notably Valorant. Although this has taken a significant amount of Riot Games’ resources, they have far from abandoned League of Legends.

In fact, Game Director, Pu Liu has promised a big shake-up and major changes in 2025. It seems as though a new lease of life awaits LoL, rather than a slow death…

LoL Worlds is still among the leading esports tournaments

Another reason why it appears as though LoL is definitely not dying is that the World Championships is still one of the biggest competitions on the esports calendar. The prize pool in 2023, was just over $2 million, which is not to be snuffed at.

In terms of combined annual esports prize pool, LoL sits in 4th place with just over $100 million to be won each year. It is behind only Dota 2, CS:GO and Fortnite.

Moreover, Mercedes-Benz joined the already impressive list of sponsors, which includes Red Bull and Louis Vuitton. The 2024 Worlds finals are to be held at the O2 Arena in London, a high-profile venue - not bad for a “dying” game, huh?

League of Legends betting isn’t dying

As it is consistently ranked among the top five competitive games, LoL is a mainstay on most esports betting apps. Alongside Dota 2, CSGO, and Valorant, it is among the most popular esports games with bettors.

This is thanks to the multitude of daily competitions and betting opportunities that it presents. Moreover, the 2v2v2v2 game format is ideal for live betting. If you fancy taking a punt today, you can check out the top LoL betting sites here at Strafe.

So is League of Legends dying? Definitely not

In summary, League of Legends definitely isn’t dying yet and doesn’t look like doing so anytime soon. There is an argument that it is somewhat stagnating, but there appear to be big plans to change this next year.

Overall, we would argue that there has never been a more exciting time to be a League fan. Keep an eye on our site for more LoL and esports updates coming soon…