League of Legends, one of the most popular MOBA games of recent years and defeating most games on the market with its popularity, earns twice as much a month for every lost player. Although most people know that League of Legends is a popular game, they do not know the exact player count. We will explain it to you in every detail.
When the game was first released on October 27, 2009, it attracted competitive game-hungry players, and its player-base has been growing steadily ever since. You can’t joke with League of Legends player count in 2021 because with all its spin-off games; it even seems to beat the monthly player count of the Steam gaming platform.
How Many People Are Playing League of Legends in 2021?
Recently, Riot Games said 180 million people are actively playing its League of Legends-themed games, an all-time high for the company. This includes games like Valorant, TFT, Wild Rift, and Legends of Runeterra. While Steam has 120 million monthly players with millions of games, Riot Games has 180 million with only five popular games.
So what is the player count of League of Legends? LoL, one of the most popular games globally, has over 125 million monthly active players. That’s seriously a huge number compared to other games. We can say that even someone who has not had a relationship with the gaming world before has stepped into this world by playing League of Legends because it has gained heavy popularity in recent years.
As a daily peak player count, 11 million users login and play League of Legends. That number has never dropped below 10-11 million since this September. Before that, it had an average of 5-7 million players, but now at least 10 million players turn on their computers to play League of Legends daily.
League of Legends player count is increasing day by day. Dota 2, the only major MOBA competitor on the market, has an average of 500 thousand monthly and a daily peak of 750 thousand players. Comparing these two great games, we can see that Dota 2 has a constant player-base, while LoL has a large number of players.
Despite the fact that many people believe League of Legends is a dying game, the statistics tell a different story. Although League of Legends experienced a drop in player count in 2018 with the increase of its competitors, it recovered after a few months, and the course of the game completely changed with brand new events. With these insane numbers, we don’t see League dying very soon!
League of Legends Player Count:
| Month | Average Monthly Players | Peak Players In a Day |
| Last 30 Days | 125,066,477.00 | 11,255,983.00 |
| October 30, 2021 | 123,954,700.00 | 11,155,923.00 |
| September 30, 2021 | 125,995,870.00 | 11,339,628.00 |
| August 30, 2021 | 126,550,278.00 | 11,389,525.00 |
| July 30, 2021 | 128,014,473.00 | 11,521,303.00 |
As you can see from the chart above, League of Legends is experiencing one of the highest times of its career. We will tell you what they owe this to in the rest of the article, but now let’s take a look at which countries League of Legends is played the most and how popular it is on Twitch.
In Which Countries Is League of Legends Played Most?
League of Legends is a game that has gained popularity in a short time not only on the basis of its country of origin but also all over the world. In total, there are 11 servers in the world, and it continues to be popular in all of them. Even the most recently opened Japanese server managed to catch up with the others in a short time.
Here are all League of Legends servers:
- Brazil (BR) – September 13, 2012
- Europe Nordic & East (EUNE)- July 13, 2010
- Europe West (EUW)- July 13, 2010
- Latin America North (LAN)- June 5, 2013
- Latin America South (LAS)- June 5, 2013
- North America (NA)- October 27, 2009
- Ocenia (OCE)- June 28, 2013
- Russia (RU)- April 17, 2013
- Turkey (TR)- September 27, 2012
- Japan (JP)- March 15, 2016
- Korea (KR)- December 12, 2011
And these are the countries which League of Legends is played the most:
- United States of America– 14.44%
- Turkey– 9.26%
- Brazil– 9.11%
- Germany– 5.97%
- Russia– 4.98%
The United States is the country where LoL is released and has its main servers, as well as the country where most tournaments are held in terms of Esports, so it is mainly played there. Turkey is in second place because League of Legends is the most played game in Turkey, and it is a country that has been successful in most Esport tournaments.
League of Legends Twitch Statistics
To figure out whether a game is popular or dead, most people look at its rank on Twitch and the number of viewers. Twitch is the deciding factor for most games. Especially when a new and highly anticipated game comes out, it rises to the top of Twitch because people want to watch that game.
League of Legends is a game that has always been in the top 3 on Twitch for years and has enormous viewing rates. Usually, one-week viewership is 120k. But when there is an event or Esport tournament, the peak reaches up to 3 million. And it has an average of 4,000 streamers.
On Twitch, the soundest thought a streamer can think of before starting a stream is to stream League of Legends because the game is heavily watched, and there’s no way LoL will die on Twitch, especially as Esport tournaments go on, League of Legends glory is always high.
In addition, other Riot Games games, Valorant and TFT, also have a large number of viewers on Twitch. Valorant surpasses its rivals CSGO and Apex in the FPS category almost every day. TFT also has a highly respected viewer community, rising to the top of Twitch when a new set comes out. Riot Games has managed to be a mighty company in every field.
| Hours Broadcasted Monthly | 2,394,688 |
| Average Viewers Monthly | 130,335 |
| Hours Watched Monthly | 93,841,313 |
| Average Broadcasters Monthly | 191,146 |
| Peak Viewers Monthly | 3,082,609 |
What Makes League of Legends So Popular?
If you ask yourself, “Why is League of Legends so popular?”, we would like to tell you that there are several answers to this, and we will explain them all to you one by one. It would not make sense to attribute League of Legends’ popularity and marketing technique to a single reason; they have a tactic that keeps them all together.
Regular Updates And Competitiveness
The most important feature of the popularity of League of Legends is that the game is constantly updated and does not repeat itself. The game is balanced with regular patches, overpowering champions are weakened, and weak ones are strengthened.
This has always been the case throughout League history, with ADC killer assassins like Rengar being reworked and taken to their current form. In other words, Riot cares and evaluates the players’ feedback at every opportunity.
Of course, there were times when the game turned into meta, and the League of Legends community began to lose its player count due to its instability. But now, it’s a game where players even decide which champion to rework with the pool, and everyone is happy with the current situation.
Also, the competitive atmosphere of the game has always been engaging. The ranked system in the game is an immersive element because everyone fully focuses on the game. Riot takes care to never break this competitive spirit of the game.
You may have heard of dragons and items that are new to the game. Almost every season, new items come, and major changes are made to the game. So even if you played the game last year, when you come back, you can realize that a lot has changed and re-experience the game. In this respect, LoL has always managed to be an innovative game.
In addition, the game has a very large pool of champions that can appeal to everyone. In other words, assassins, tanks, supports, ADCs… Having champions and themes in many different classes is one of the biggest factors that attract players to the game. In other words, even players who come to LoL from another game can get used to LoL in a short time.
It Is Free-to-play
Another critical factor in the popularity of League of Legends is that the game is free. There are a lot of games on the market that are paid but still popular. You may be questioning how this has anything to do with popularity. But you’re missing the part of the starting story of someone who has nothing to do with the game world.
Imagine you are someone who has never played or played at a minimum level until now; you are doubtful whether you will like games or not. So don’t you want to take a test drive? This is where the marketing of League of Legends begins. LoL is the first game of the majority of players who start LoL.
So, the idea of starting a game for free and continuing with that game if you like it is considered logical by the majority. Therefore, the fact that League of Legends is free-to-play attracts more players to the game. Considering the amount of money that game lovers spend on in-game cosmetics, it is a fact that more profit is made than if the game is paid.
In addition, the fact that a game is optionally paid, that is, money can be spent on cosmetics, makes that game more quality and equal in the eyes of most gamers. Besides, there are free loot boxes in the game and rewards that you can get through most events. So you don’t need to pay money to start League of Legends and have most things.
League of Legends can only be played on PC, namely Windows and Mac. Imagine how high League of Legends’ player count would be if it were playable on platforms like Xbox, Playstation, or Nintendo. That would be a huge difference.
Easy to Learn And Fluent Gameplay
Although League of Legends may seem like a very tiring and challenging game in the professional arena, it is actually not difficult at all when played correctly. Hundreds of types and tactics are offered, and tutorial modes are available for beginners. When you play these modes, you have no chance of not learning the game.
Most people started LoL either through the recommendation of their friends or by hearing the game’s popularity, and they know little about the game. For those who start with a friend’s suggestion, their friends usually teach the game, which is the easiest way to learn. Therefore, their learning of the game will be shorter and more effective.
Apart from that, there is not much difference between those who just started the game independently. You play with bots until you learn the game, and the game continues to give you information about items, gameplay, and even champions. And since it’s a game that doesn’t require grinding, every game is an opportunity to start over and learn the game.
The game has three basic requirements: good use of your reflexes, good observation skills, and timing. You won’t have any of these when you first start the game, but as soon as you immerse yourself in the fluid atmosphere of the game, they will come to you one by one. League of Legends is one of the easiest and most enjoyable games to learn.
You can also easily improve yourself by watching hundreds of professional players. Although League of Legends is a game with different gameplay techniques, it is a game that is always played on the same basis. If you play regularly at certain intervals, it is not difficult at all to master the game.
No Cheating Allowed
One of the most important reasons why most players quit the game is cheating. In many games, cheating is very popular nowadays, and it takes all the fun out of the game. Cheating players destroy equality, balance, and competitive ambition in the game. Most of the games that cannot prevent this are now considered dead.
League of Legends is very strict about this, and no cheating is allowed in the game. Throughout the history of League of Legends, no cheats have been found to disrupt the balance of the game, even in the first years of its release. There were some “script” style cases, but it wasn’t long before they were removed.
The fact that the game is entirely based on the players’ own skills and reflexes makes that game special. When extra help comes in, you don’t want to play that game because you get the feeling that you are playing against a bot. That’s why League of Legends has always done its best to keep cheaters out of the game, for that matter.
Excellent Report System
Also, as in every game, there are toxic players in League of Legends. We can say that it is almost impossible to completely eliminate toxicity in a popular game like LoL. In every game, you can find players blaming jungles, teaching supporters how to play, and stressing Yasuo players. But Riot has taken big steps to prevent that.
Riot Games, which does not hesitate to ban any player even if it is perma, improves its report system day by day. The fact that they always have a team that responds to tickets and reviews reports prevents the game from staying away from toxicity. In this regard, we can say that Riot Games has managed to be one of the best, despite the fact that they have pretty young players.
Lore and Shows
League of Legends has deep and detailed Lore like World of Warcraft, Dota 2, and many legendary games. There are different regions in the game, and each champion takes place in a certain region with its unique story. Another element that makes the game attractive and gripping is its story.
League of Legends has a side that makes the game even more captivating, such as videos where it constantly introduces its champions, great cinematics with the most loved champions, and the interactions of the champions with each other. These animations push the viewers to learn about the game, and eventually, they start the game.
Besides the videos, there are also memorable stories and comics of champions such as Lissandra’s tragic and cold past, Kindred’s obscurity, Lux’s regret, Swain’s honor, Lucian and Senna’s battle, and more. These are all key features that keep the player in the game.
Riot Games’ great marketing techniques don’t stop there. They’re constantly releasing unique soundtracks for champions, and some champions even have their own non-Lore bands. These groups are K/DA, True Damage, and Pentakill. They all have their music videos and albums. In fact, the group K/DA has been so successful that it stayed at the top of the streaming platforms for weeks.
Arcane
Also, a League of Legends-themed series has been released recently in collaboration with Netflix. The Arcane series has managed to be the most significant factor in the increase in the player count of League of Legends so far. The series was so successful on Netflix that it became one of the most-watched series ever broadcast.
Arcane was a much-hyped and publicized project, and it paid off. In the series, which is based on the champions in the game Jinx and Vi, other champions were also mentioned, and naturally, the interest in the game increased.
The makers of Dota 2 have also used this marketing technique before. They released a Netflix series called Dragon’s Blood, but it didn’t even come close to LoL’s success with Arcane. Riot Games has become one of the companies with the strongest marketing technique in the game market with Arcane.
Another key to the success of League of Legends is the enormous in-game cosmetics. These cosmetics, introduced as skins, have different and attractive themes. With their splash art, graphics, and voice lines, they keep most players curious about the game.
League of Legends comes with unique events at the release of each new skin-line. Players can win different prizes by participating in these events. These events are why League of Legends has a high player count. They keep the game constantly updated and active.
Esports
And now it’s time for the most prominent and final reason why League of Legends player count is so high. The eSports arena is the most excellent reason LoL has spread worldwide and is so competitive. Thanks to the breathtaking tournaments and matches, most people start the game to experience the world of LoL.
The professional LoL scene is organized into many leagues, each representing a different region. The NA LCS league, for example, runs all year on the North American server and region. In the LCS, only the best teams from the United States, Canada, and the rest of North America compete. The same can be said for the European LEC, South Korean LCK, Chinese LPL, and other leagues.
Now, all of these leagues are working toward the same goal: launching their finest team on a global stage. The Mid-Season Invitational, or MSI, is the first international competition for LoL each year. It is held in a different state or city every year, and teams from all leagues compete. MSI is a competition that has been held since 2015 and organized by Riot.
On the other hand, the World Championship is the most important tournament in the League of Legends Esports world. The best teams compete in the World Championships at the end of the year.
The League of Legends World Championship is the most prestigious Esports tournament, and it has consistently smashed viewing records. The finals of Worlds 2018, for example, drew a record-breaking 99.6 million unique viewers worldwide.
These tournaments continue to be exciting as the days go by and new talents emerge. For example, the best of the professional arena: Shining stars such as Faker, Bjergsen, Perkz, Deft are the biggest factors keeping LoL alive.
Epilogue
In this article, we talked about the League of Legends player count and why it is such a top game. If you ask about the future of LoL, we do not doubt that it will always be the best in its category, even though its rivals are increasing day by day, because League of Legends is now a classic game.
If you are a League of Legends player or someone who is considering starting LoL, I hope our article was helpful to you. You can always contact us if you have any questions or would like to consult.
Want to make good use of your League of Legends knowledge?
Visit Thunderpick LoL betting site and let your skills and expertise earn some cash for you!
