“We are not a film and television studio”

Arcane executive music producer Alex Seaver explained why the second season raised the budget to $250 million, breaking animation records. Before the release of Arcane In Season 2, it was reported that the new episodes raised the cost of the entire series to $250 million in total. It broke budget records, becoming the most expensive animated series of all time. It also makes the series stand out for more than its beautiful visuals and well-written characters, giving it an important place in animation history.

Talking to Screen speechSeaver said ArcaneThe long production time and cost was due to Riot Games’ desire to ensure perfection throughout production. The executive music producer addressed the notion that the series “broke a video game adaptation curse”, giving credit to Fortische Production for its animation. He also praised showrunner Christian Linke for discovering the studio, emphasizing the importance of communication between all parties to produce an impressive – and expensive – final product. Check out what Seaver had to say below:

The show is made by Riot Games, which is, I think, one of the reasons it took so long to make. There are all these articles about how expensive it was, it’s because we’re not a film and television studio, we’re a games company. But I think that’s also the reason why, in some ways, this broke the video game adaptation curse, or whatever people say, is because those people care more about the game. They did it. We don’t rent the work to traditional film and television people, which can work perfectly. But for something like this, the special sauce is that it’s made in the building and we do all the animation in Paris, at Fortiche, but they’re like us now. We’ve been working with them for five or six years on some of our biggest music beats.

AND [showrunner] Christian [Linke] I just found them. He loves animation in a high art form. And then the cast is actually Fortiche and Riot Games. We have conversations every week. We are in communication. We take a lot of trips to Paris and that’s about it. It was written by us and the music was made by us with wonderful artists. That’s probably why it feels so much like a team, is that everything is happening in the building. And that’s why the Easter eggs and references to champions are so deep and dense, because they were the people who invented Vi and Jinx. It created them. They are writing Arcane. They wrote these characters 10 years ago or something, and now here they are. I think that’s one of the reasons he has such a cool sense of self.

What Seaver’s statement says about Arcane’s budget

The program needed a high cost to tell its story

Seaver’s statement emphasizes how large the production of the League of Legends series wastaking several years and the expert craftsmanship of the French animation studio to come to life. This justifies its huge budget, which went not only to the animators, but also to the writers, directors and cast of Arcaneall of which helped bring the series to life. If so much money hadn’t been spent on creating its vibrant yet dark world, the series would still have been good, but it might not have been as memorable.

These high expenses could also be applied to upcoming follow-up projects, it is expected to be set in Noxus, Ionia and Demacia. Although it is not clear whether its cost would be as high as, for example, a potential Arcane In season three, that same budget may be needed to bring familiar characters from these regions to life. The series set a precedent for what to expect in the future League of Legends shows or movies, which means a similar amount of dedication and spending is likely to go into projects now in development.

Our Take on Why Arcane’s Budget Was So High

Required to create your stunning animation

Without a high budget, Arcane it may not have had the stunning animation it did, bringing every frame to life in stunning detail across all 18 episodes. The amount of money spent is a testament to how much effort was put into making this a strong, unique series, worthy of the huge price tag attached. Given that even more projects are already underway, it may not be long before the League of Legends‘new TV universe grows even more.