Do you know what League of Legends is? Well, you should. Riot Games announced today that a whopping four million people play the strategy game each day.
The game's daily playerbase has increased 280% since July 2011. There are now 11.5 million active players per month. At peak hours, up to 1.3 million are logged on. There are 30 million registered players worldwide.
"The incredible passion and dedication of our players is positively inspiring," said Brandon Beck, co-founder and CEO of Riot Games. "Our community’s boundless enthusiasm is why they are central to every decision we make at Riot."
League of Legends is inspired by the WarCraft III custom map "Defense of the Ancients." Two teams of hero units attempt to destroy a special structure in their opponents' base. In a Dominion mode released this fall, teams also compete for control of five capture points. Each hero unit has unique abilities and grows in strength over the course of a battle.
"It’s staggering to think about the fact that over a billion games of League of Legends have been played since launch," said Marc Merrill, co-founder and President of Riot Games. "In 2012, we intend to deliver even more for our growing audience."
LoL is about to enter its second season of competitive play. Season Two will offer up a five million dollar prize pool, said to be the largest in eSports history. The final competition will be a global $2 million tournament.
Downloading and playing League won't cost you a cent. The game supports itself through the sale of optional content like new units or skins.
Update: Riot Games has also released a shiny infographic with all of their player base stats.
