Well, this came out of nowhere - Chinese gaming giant Tencent has just secured the remaining equity in Riot Games - the creators of League of Legends. Riot Games very quietly made the announcement earlier today.
Riot Games said in an update: "Our majority investor, Tencent, recently purchased the remaining equity of Riot Games. This allows us to move away from a Riot equity program towards a cash based incentive program that allows Rioters to share in Riot's success". Riot continued: "Riot's approach to compensation has always been about aligning the incentives of the company with Rioters, and also about ensuring that we compensate our talented team of professionals well".
Back in 2011, Tencent secured a majority stake in Riot Games, buying out their other investors for a rumored $400 million deal. Tencent has been a long-time investor in the League of Legends developer, investing in Riot back in 2009, and then signing a Chinese distribution deal for League of Legends back in November 2008. Riot Games added: "We're excited about the flexibility of this new approach to comp and believe it'll help us continue to ensure Riot remains a great place to work".
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