League of Legends Origins documentary live on Netflix

A documentary about the rise of League of Legends is now available to view on Netflix.

Titled “League of Legends: Origins”, the feature-length documentary explores how Riot Games’ MOBA became one of the most popular games in the world. It comes as part of the  game’s 10-year anniversary celebrations, which also saw Riot reveal a variety of upcoming projects including a new FPS game and a digital card game.

Directed by Leslie Iwerks, who previously directed Academy Award-nominated documentary Recycled Life and Emmy-nominated The Pixar Story, Origins takes a look at the growth of League of Legends as both a game and an esport.

Starting with the inception of the game that would go on to become League of Legends, and the foundation of Riot Games, the documentary covers the early days of development and key decisions – such as the choice to make the title free-to-play, a very unconventional move for the time – that helped it become the titan it is today.

• Read more: Everything announced during the Riot Games League 10 stream

As well as the rise of the game itself, Origins also documents the development of League of Legends as an esport, from the Season One Championship – the first international, end-of-season tournament from which the World Championship was spawned in future years – to the development of the LCS, which moved League of Legends from the open tournament circuit that most esports operated on to a league format produced by the game’s developers themselves.

In addition to interviews with members of Riot themselves, the documentary features insight and commentary from a variety of people whose lives have been significantly influenced by League of Legends, from the likes of LCS commentator Joshua ‘Jatt’ Leesman to former pro and G2 Esports owner Carlos ‘ocelote’ Rodriguez, and even popular streamer Imane ‘Pokimane’ Anys.

League of Legends: Origins runs for 1 hour 17 minutes, and is available to watch now on Netflix. Those without a Netflix account who want to view the documentary will be able to by signing up for a free one-month trial.