Chapter Sixty-Two: Avengers Alliance Operation

In the end, Tencent from China and NCsoft from South Korea relented and reluctantly accepted the new revenue-sharing agreement, though Arthur compensated each of them with five million dollars for breach of contract. Their only demand was to take the lead in establishing the new esports leagues. They could certainly be in charge, but as for profit sharing, that would require further negotiation.

Two months slipped by in the blink of an eye. After Stark announced the acquisition of Riot Games, there was no more news. Meanwhile, the number of League of Legends players around the world continued to grow steadily.

At the end of February 2012, Riot Games finally made a major move! The company announced to the world the creation of four major esports regions for club competition: the LCS North America, LEC Europe, LCK Korea, and LPL China. Each region would invite esports clubs to participate in spring and summer splits, with the four highest-scoring teams qualifying for the global finals in October.

This year’s World Championship would be held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the largest esports event in the world, boasting a prize pool of ten million dollars! Upon hearing the news, esports clubs everywhere went wild. Clubs without League of Legends teams planned to recruit and form squads as soon as possible.

The second piece of news was even more exciting for players. To celebrate the collaboration between the Avengers and Riot Games, League of Legends would launch a set of original Avengers Squad skins!

On the League of Legends client homepage, the eight Avengers heroes appeared in dazzling new designs on the promotional banner.

Players everywhere were thrilled. By now, there was no one in the world who hadn't heard of the Avengers. To ordinary people, the Avengers were a mysterious organization known for protecting Earth, their most famous members being the eight who fought in the Battle of New York.

The new Avengers Squad skins featured these very eight heroes! Fans of the Avengers planned to buy the whole set. Even those who had never played League of Legends, but were fans of the Avengers, rushed to download the game to support their heroes.

On March 1st, the Avengers Squad skins launched globally, and the spring splits in every region officially began.

In China, thanks to Tencent’s overwhelming promotional campaign, everyone who logged into QQ was greeted by pop-up ads and animated trailers for League of Legends and the Avengers Squad.

Players flocked to the game and marveled at the new skins.

“Wow, this Hawkeye Varus skin is awesome! The arrows come in different colors, and the ultimate is a grappling arrow! The design is exquisite!”

“Iron Man Ezreal is the coolest! The model looks amazing, the effects are fantastic, and he even flies during his speed boost!”

“Spider-Man Amumu is so different! The short Amumu is now as tall as everyone else, shooting webs for skills. Really well done!”

“Thor Kennen and Aquaman Fizz are now as tall and imposing as the other Avengers heroes, no longer Yordles! Aquaman’s effects are the best, with a giant octopus in his ultimate!”

“Am I the only one who thinks Black Widow Katarina looks stunning? Her daggers became electric batons, and the splash art is gorgeous!”

“Hulk Mundo is a perfect match. Compared to the original, he’s much bigger, and his cleaver is now a rock. He looks even tougher!”

“Captain America Lee Sin is truly unique; his Sonic Wave is now a shield bash—so much fun to watch!”

Players gave the Avengers Squad skins rave reviews. Until now, all skins simply changed colors or swapped models. This was the first time skins came with special effects.

The price was reasonable—thirty yuan for a single skin, or 199 yuan for the entire Avengers Squad set with bonus champions. Practically a steal!

Everyone’s desire to buy was ignited, and the start of the spring split drew the attention of countless young fans.

The LPL China region was officially established. Though China’s esports environment was challenging, six teams were formed: WE, IG, LGD, Royal, OMG, and PE.

From the moment the competitions began, they attracted a huge youth following. Many who had never played League of Legends downloaded it after watching the matches, and soon couldn’t stop playing.

Beyond China, League of Legends’ influence grew rapidly worldwide, with player numbers surpassing twenty million in one month.

The Avengers Squad skins sold exceptionally well, bringing in impressive revenue. Tony himself became hooked, playing ranked games as Iron Man every day.

Arthur had Tony acquire two sizable video platforms, rebranding them as Hero Video, to serve as the official site for League of Legends tournaments, with a special section for live streaming League content.

Tony praised Arthur’s business acumen, saying it was a pity he hadn’t started a company of his own.

Arthur encouraged the Avengers to register official accounts on Hero Video, suggesting they post videos and become internet celebrities. Most weren’t interested, except for Peter Parker, who enjoyed making videos and was an avid photographer.

Determined to get the site off the ground, Arthur took matters into his own hands. He bought two cameras and went to Tony’s lab, recording him testing his new armor. Since this was no longer classified, Arthur even had Tony attach a camera to his suit and film a flight from a first-person perspective.

When the video was uploaded, the internet exploded. Tony gained countless fans overnight. Until now, people had only seen the Iron Man suit in news clips, the game, or blurry videos—never in such clarity, nor from Tony’s own viewpoint soaring through the skies. It was a sensation!

Within a day, the video hit fifty million views, with endless likes and comments.

Seeing the response, Arthur struck while the iron was hot, heading to Steve Rogers’ home to film a fitness video. Steve demonstrated exercises, and the video ended with Arthur and Steve sparring in close combat.

Once uploaded to Hero Video, the video earned even more praise, especially among fitness enthusiasts who watched it repeatedly, envious of Captain America’s physique and eager to follow his training tips.

People also learned that Aquaman Arthur had not died in the Battle of New York but had returned to Earth and was now running a video platform.

With just these two videos, Hero Video shot up to become the second-largest video site in America, second only to YouTube, and with the addition of live gaming and official League of Legends broadcasts, it was unstoppable.

Many content creators flocked to Hero Video to upload their work; watching videos elsewhere quickly became outdated.

For the Chinese market, Avengers Games launched a Chinese version of Hero Video, complete with local servers, so Chinese players no longer needed a VPN to watch. The established Chinese video and streaming platforms could sense the looming threat.

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