League of Legends is super popular in Asia. I know that fact annoys some of our readers—and possibly some of our staff—but it’s true. And just in case you needed some convincing, here’s an interesting tidbit I came across while putting together the latest list of the top ten PC games in Korea. League of Legends has held the number one spot on that list—that is, it has been the most-played game in South Korea—for eighty straight weeks.
That’s a pretty crazy number: it means that Riot and Tencent’s MOBA title is quickly approaching two full years as the top game in the country. And although it hasn’t quite hit that level of dominance yet in China, it has been sitting on the top of the most-played games list in China for more than half a year as well.
Of course, League is still playing second fiddle to another game when it comes to financial dominance of the Asian markets, though: Crossfire. The Korean FPS generated more revenue in 2013 than any other free-to-play game in the world, including League of Legends (which was a distant second).
But League developer Riot may take comfort in the fact that when Korean gamers find a competitive game they like, they tend to stick with it: Starcraft and Warcraft III are still among the most-played games in Korea despite being a decade old. And of course, the fact that a Korean team is absolutely bossing the global competitive League of Legends scene right now probably doesn’t hurt in terms of sustaining interest in the game, either!
What else is killing it in Korea?
Infographic: South Korea’s top 10 most popular PC games (February 2014)
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