Riot Games believes Sam Bankman-Fried has hurt the League of Legends brand. The boss who caused the loss of FTX claimed that he was always plugged into multiplayer online gaming and couldn’t stop.
Can a failed entrepreneur’s passion for a video game damage the game’s reputation? That’s according to Riot Games, the publisher of League of Legendsthe ultra-popular multiplayer game followed online by large communities of gamers. The studio is targeting Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), boss of the FTX crypto-currency platform, which collapsed in a few days after shocking revelations about its mismanagement.
FTX had raised millions of dollars from numerous investors, before it was discovered that it was lying about its actual capital – much of it was held by itself, through other companies. The whole story of the bankrupt FTX crypto platform is developed in this other article.
Why would Sam Bankman-Fried serve League of Legends?
Riot Games was linked to FTX by a partnership which aimed to give visibility to the crypto platform. The American studio is now trying to break this contract – FTX owes it a lot of money, as it does to many creditors. It is in the complaint document, unearthed by researcher Molly White (who maintains the website 3 Is Going Just Great), that we can read the annoyance of Riot Games against Sam Bankman-Fried.
” Before and during the media storm, Riot Games’ name and reputation with its consumer base has been inextricably linked to FTX, through the image of its CEO, Mr. Bankman-Fried. “, can we read. ” Media outlets and commenters on Twitter circulated footage of Mr. Bankman-Fried playing League of Legends, Riot Games’ game, just as FTX crashed. »
And, to continue: Mr. BankmanFried is famous for his affinity with gambling. He is well known to investors for playing League of Legends on dates. He acknowledged on Twitter that he had played ‘much more [à League of Legends] than you would expect from someone who regularly trades sleep for work. »
In 2021, SBF had indeed told himself that he ” was making phone calls while on League of Legends “, but could not explain why he spent so much time on the Riot Games game. And, to chain with a brittle: “ The most universal knowledge that exists on League of Legends, is that any player will tell you that he wishes he could not play it. »
Sam Bankman-Fried is a cliche iconoclastic tech whiz — which, ironically, is becoming almost the norm in the universe startuper American tech. He who claims to be “effective altruism” (achieving a “good” goal for humanity would justify all means) has succeeded in convincing those who hold the private investment stock exchanges to trust him. This, despite his air of eternal teenager, and with his unhealthy addiction to an online game known to be popular with very young players.
“ These images of Mr. Bankman-Fried playing League of Legends were posted alongside text that describes his cavalier attitude during meetings with investors and his irresponsible handling of corporate funds “, continues the complaint of Riot Games. ” These images created a story arc that Mr. Bankman-Fried’s attachment to League of Legends, which was initially seen as something understandable and human, is now something juvenile and reckless. »