Riot Games and Globant announced a multi-year strategic partnership applying AI across the esports viewing experience, broadcasting infrastructure, and mobile integration. The commercial scale is significant: Globant described it as its largest gaming deal ever signed. The partnership targets personalised viewing experiences for Riot's global player and fan base — which includes League of Legends, Valorant, and other titles with hundreds of millions of registered players. The AI layer is designed to adapt broadcast content, statistics presentation, and interactive features based on individual viewer preferences and engagement patterns. Mobile integration is a priority: a large proportion of esports consumption happens on mobile, in fragmented sessions, requiring content formats and AI personalisation different from desktop or connected TV. Custom AI models and real-time ML recommendation systems form the core technical stack. Status: multi-year partnership, active development. Announced April 2025.
Why it matters
Esports are the fastest-moving laboratory for AI-native media products because the audience is digital-native, platform-agnostic, and accustomed to personalised experiences from gaming itself. Riot has a structural advantage: it controls both the game and the broadcast, which means it can instrument the entire fan journey in ways traditional sports rights holders cannot. The Globant partnership is significant in scope but light on specifics — "richer, personalised experiences" is a category, not a product. The commercial risk of over-personalisation is real: when every fan sees a different version of the broadcast, the shared cultural experience that makes esports viewing communal starts to fragment. Editorial authenticity and community trust are not abstract values — they are the foundation of why people watch competitive gaming rather than play it alone.