The most expensive animated series ever returns after three years with its final season.
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| Image Credit: Netflix |
Arcane, the animated series that revolutionized the world of animation and won over fans of League of Legends, is about to make its long-awaited return to Netflix. After three years of waiting, the second season of the series, which also serves as the final chapter for this story, will debut on Saturday, November 9. Created by Riot Games and Fortiche Production, Arcane has taken the genre to an unprecedented level, both for its visual quality and for the record budget used to make it.
Arcane is the most expensive animated series ever! An unprecedented budget for animation
According to Variety, Riot Games invested approximately $250 million in the production and promotion of the first two seasons of Arcane, arriving at a cost per episode of almost $14 million. This makes Arcane the most expensive animated series ever made, on par with some of the biggest live-action productions, like Sandman or Game of Thrones. By comparison, most animated series, even successful ones, have much smaller budgets, averaging $1-2 million per episode; even The Simpsons has an estimated cost of $4-5 million per episode, despite being one of the longest-running and most popular animated productions.
Part of the high production cost is because Riot Games had to build an in-house film and television production department from scratch to bring Arcane to life. This required not only huge investments, but also the hiring of top-notch executives, producers, and professionals to ensure the quality of the result was top-notch. Riot’s decision to focus on a model focused on quality, rather than speed, is clear: the second season took three years to complete, an unusual amount of time for television productions, but one that reflects the studio’s perfectionist approach.
Riot Games co-founder Marc Merrill told Variety that the company doesn’t intend to operate like a traditional studio, with rigid deadlines. “We realized that it takes a lot longer to do things right than we initially expected,” Merrill said. “We’ve recalibrated our development and our goals to focus on quality.”
A New Barometer for Animation
Despite the sizable budget, Merrill expressed confidence in the spending on Arcane. While he wouldn’t confirm the exact figure of $250 million, Merrill said, “We’re comfortable with the expense of delivering a series that’s worthy of our players’ time.” The response to the first season from audiences and critics alike has proven that the risk of such a large investment has paid off: Arcane has become a global phenomenon, lauded for both its compelling story and its stunning graphics.
With Arcane, Riot Games and Netflix have raised the bar for animated production, aiming for a level of quality that defies industry conventions and proves that animation can compete, in budget and ambition, with great live-action productions. This second season, which will be available on Netflix starting November 9, marks not only the conclusion of the story but also a new chapter for Riot Games in the field of entertainment.
Source: Variety
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