PC Gamer - UK (2021-12)

I

f you’re a K-pop fan,
you might have heard
of K/DA. If you’re a
League of Legends fan,
you definitely have.
That’s something of a speciality of
Riot Games Music, Riot Games’
own music label: its reach extends
much further than fandom bops
and OSTs – its artists are seriously
successful in their own right.

Riot Music was kickstarted by the
success of K/DA, the virtual K-pop
group formed of League of Legends
characters and whose 2018 hit POP/
STARS has been watched more than
450 million times on YouTube.
Before that, Riot tapped into popular
music to produce hits for the League
of Legends World Championship.
Riot’s musical theory was founded
in a different sound, however, one
clad in spiky belts and chains. Back in
2014, metal band Pentakill laid the
foundation for K/DA, True Damage,
and every Worlds song since. Like K/
DA, it’s a virtual band, but is often
vocalised by real artists.
“Pentakill has always been a
passion project of the music team,”
Toa Dunn, head of Riot Games
Musics, says. After a four-year hiatus,
Pentakill has returned with an album
called III: Lost Chapter and a virtual
concert – a chance for Riot to
explore Pentakill’s virtual band
credentialswitheverythingit’s

RIOT MUSIC hit big with K/DA–

it’s not stopping there. By JacobRid

TUNING IN

RIOT MUSIC GAMES

RIOT GAMES

TV

but

dley

learned since K/DA. “We wanted it

to be special for Pentakill fans.”

POP UP

Riot has a knack for pop melodies,

but it’s also managed to pluck its

artists’ sense of self out of its games

in such a way that they’re both

distinct from one another. Case in

point: Pentakill and K/DA are two

groups born out of the same game,

though you’d never guess it.

“K/DA has shown us the potential

behind our music efforts,” Dunn

explains. “We also think this is just

the tip of the iceberg of where we

can go from here.”

Riot Music’s aspirations

may be larger than ever, but

Dunn states it remains the

crossover between games,

esports, and even TV/film

that holds “great

potential for music.” No

doubt we can expect

bigger things out of

Riot’s music labs in the

future, though sadly it won’t tell us

when K/DA’s next single is out.

“PENTAKILL HAS

ALWAYS BEEN A

PASSION PROJECT

OF THE

MUSIC TEAM”

ABOVE:K/DAhasa strongsocialmedia

presence,anoddmixofrealityandfantasy

AHRI

Voiced by: Miyeon,

Nayeon, Sana, Jihyo,

Chaeyoung, Bekuh

BOOM, Annika Wells

Fashion icon and face

of ‘FOXY’ cosmetics.

AKALI

Voiced by: Soyeon

A ‘hip hop ninja’ from

the streets who

combines her rapping

skills with mixed

martial arts.

EVELYNN

Voiced by: Madison

Beer, Bea Miller, Kim

Petras

This diva had two hit

singles before she

even joined the group.

KAI’SA

Voiced by: Jaira

Burns, Wolftyla, Bekuh

BOOM, Aluna

A dedicated dancer

who speaks four

languages fluently.

ROLL CALL

Meet the core members of K/DA