Marc Merrill

Marc "Tryndamere" Merrill is the Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Riot Games, the game developer and publisher behind League of Legends, VALORANT, Teamfight Tactics, Wild Rift, Legends of Runeterra, and the animated, Emmy-winning, TV series Arcane. Marc co-founded Riot—along with Brandon Beck—in 2006 with the vision and commitment to drastically change the way video games are developed, delivered, and supported for players. Since then, he’s helped League of Legends become one of the most-played online games in history and the foundation of the world's largest esport. With Riot’s growth, Marc’s focus is on aligning individual teams' pursuit of Riot’s “player first” vision across genres, platforms, and strategies.

Building Great Experiences for Players: A Never Ending Quest

When it comes to shipping games, conversation in the industry has been increasingly focused on financial pressures—prioritizing time, efficiency, and volume to meet business needs. This emphasis has fueled cynicism amongst players that companies are prioritizing profits over empowering game makers to create truly great games. In this talk, Marc Merrill (Co-founder and Chief Product Officer, Riot Games) will talk about how game making is harder than ever, as players deserve great games and experiences worthy of their time, especially in a world where they have more entertainment options competing for their attention than ever before. 
Marc will share how Riot prioritizes taking the time necessary to create games and experiences right for players, how this player-first philosophy shapes every decision Riot makes, and why this simple–yet ultimately complex–approach makes game development a meaningful career path.
Marc will reflect on Riot’s evolution and share key lessons from the company’s journey–including the tough decisions that realigned Riot with its core values and paved the way for ambitious milestones like League’s 15th Anniversary, Arcane Season 2, and the evolution of Riot’s ecosystem. He will also explore what it takes to build not just great games, but an enduring culture of creativity and purpose within the gaming industry.