Coca-Cola becomes global partner of Wild Rift Esports

Riot Games has announced a multi-year, global partnership between Coca-Cola and Wild Rift Esports, according to a press release shared on Thursday. Coca-Cola will be a founding partner for Wild Rift as the new mobile esports ventures into its first full year of competition.

Leo Faria, the global head of Wild Rift Esports at Riot Games, said that Coca-Cola was the best choice for a global partner because their goals aligned with what Riot were trying to do in growing Wild Rift Esports.

“It was very clear in the conversations how they shared our vision,” Faria said in an interview. “They believed very much in the future of mobile.”

Besides believing in the boom in mobile gaming, Faria said Coca-Cola also shared Riot’s desire to promote accessibility in their esport as well as building it into something truly global.

“[Coca-Cola’s] whole brand platform is around accessibility and bringing people together,” he said.

In the past, Coca-Cola has partnered with League of Legends, meaning they are not new to Riot IPs. That pre-existing history and the company’s global presence were also big factors in forming the partnership. Faria said that while domestic partnerships made sense for financial institutions and mobile carriers in the regional leagues, for a soft drink partner, Coca-Cola was the obvious choice.

Faria also said the partnership will open up doors to venues and talent that Riot wouldn’t have ordinarily been able to get. He expects Coca-Cola will continue its tradition of hosting watch parties and live events.

Coca-Cola x Wild Rift content

According to the press release, Coca-Cola will be involved in co-creating “unique fan experiences” for Wild Rift. That will include “custom rewards and experiences” and a weekly content series, the details of which are still being ironed out. The most recent digital campaign from Coca-Cola features scenes from Wild Rift Esports.

“Having their support as we continue to add new features and content to Wild Rift will unlock new possibilities in and out of the game,” Alan Moore, executive producer of League of Legends: Wild Rift at Riot Games, said in the press release.

“We are looking forward to working closely with the team at Wild Rift to bring new content and experiences to more fans around the world in the coming months and years,” Selman Careaga, the global president at The Coca-Cola Company, said.

Wild Rift Esports, Riot Games’s first mobile esport, is in its inaugural competitive season. Competition takes place in eight different regions across the world, with a global season finale to bring the best of the best together and close out the year. Wild Rift’s first international tournament, Wild Rift Icons Global Championship, will take place this summer with teams competing to qualify through regional events.