Being the most player-focused game company in the world means more to us than just creating great games. It also means fostering an inclusive environment that lets us represent a globally diverse playerbase. That’s why, starting on May 17th, the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (IDAHOTB), we’re kicking off our season of Pride to celebrate and support LGBTQIA+ players and communities.
We launched the Rainbow Fluft Icon back in 2018 as a dedication to queer players across the globe who share our love for games. The Rainbow Fluft has evolved in the years since, and this year the Rainbow Fluft—along with other free content—is coming to EVERY Riot game across May and June. That means you can equip your favorite Pride icon in League and match it with your player card in VALORANT.
You can read more about what’s coming to League of Legends, Teamfight Tactics, Legends of Runeterra, and Wild Rift here. For VALORANT, keep your eyes on playvalorant.com in June for more details.
Celebrating player identities is crucial to building a diverse and inclusive game experience, and we strive to approach representation with care, respect, and authenticity whether it’s in-game or represented in our lore. We’ve been working over the past few years to ensure every player can see themselves in our characters and games. There’s a lot more we want to do to create meaningful representation of LGBTQIA+ folks in our games, and we’re just getting started. Our commitment is to better equip our developers with education and best practices so every player can see themselves in our characters and games.
Outside of our games, you can tune into our esports leagues LCS, LEC, CBLOL, and LLA (and more) to celebrate Pride. We’ll also be releasing Pride-themed merch on merch.riotgames.com available from June 1st to July 31th with 100% of net proceeds going to the It Gets Better Project.
This year marks our fourth year partnering with the It Gets Better Project. We’ll continue to support their mission to uplift, empower, and connect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) youth around the globe by hosting events and creating content that may look similar to ones we’ve done in the past.
This is just the beginning of our Pride celebration, and we can’t wait to celebrate with you!
