Riot Games has announced a reorganization of its leadership team overseeing esports and entertainment

Riot Games is restructuring its leadership within the esports and entertainment divisions.

John Needham, the current president of esports, has been promoted to president of publishing and esports. His new role focuses on developing "new integrated experiences" that will merge esports, music, and creative publishing endeavors.

Needham has been with Riot since 2017, initially as managing director of Europe, and has since ascended to various key positions. Before joining Riot, he served as the head of European publishing at Lionhead and was the CEO of Cryptic Studios.

The company has introduced two new studios to oversee its television, film, and development projects. One studio will focus on animation, led by creative director Christian Linke, while the other will handle live-action content under the guidance of chief content officer Brian Wright.

Linke has been with Riot since 2010, initially starting as a data analyst, then transitioning to composer for League of Legends in 2011, and ultimately becoming the creator and showrunner for Arcane since 2015.

Wright took on the role of chief content officer in 2021, transitioning from his position as vice president of family content at Netflix where he worked for seven years.

Riot's CEO, Dylan Jadeja, stated, "For the past year, we've been working to re-orient our organisation and structure to serve players in a more aligned way. John, Christian, and Brian are all incredible leaders who care deeply about players. I have no doubt that, together with our game development teams, they will dream up even more memorable and defining moments players can be proud of."