Photo: Riot Games
Less than a day after announcing that the controversial Saudi megacity Neom would become a major sponsor of the League of Legends European Championship, Riot has reversed the decision. The news comes after fans, LEC staff, and Riot employees criticized the decision, due largely to the Saudi government’s long history of human right abuses, which extends to the creation of Neom itself, a city billed as a kind of sci-fi wonderland.
In a statement, Alberto Guerrero, Riot’s director of esports for the EMEA region, said:
As a company and as a league, we know that it’s important to recognize when we make mistakes and quickly work to correct them. After further reflection, while we remain steadfastly committed to all of our players and fans…