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This week’s Simpsons focuses on League of Legends

This week’s Simpsons focuses on League of Legends

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The bizarre crossover will give fans of The Simpsons a look at the world of e-sports

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League of Legends will be one of the focal points in Sunday’s episode of The Simpsons. The crossover will give fans of the show a look at the world of e-sports and PC gaming, while giving League fans who are lapsed Simpsons viewers a reason to tune in.

Whalen Rozelle, Riot Games’ co-head of e-sports, tells The Verge that The Simpsons reached out last year to learn more about League e-sports, as an executive producer for the show regularly drives by League’s e-sports arena on the way to work. “This episode was not sponsored in any way. They came to us organically to help consult on the episode,” Rozelle says. “We worked very closely with the Simpsons team, reviewing the script and sharing feedback on specific questions they had while ideating for the episode.”

“Not sponsored”

Rozelle says Riot got to give advice on what characters would say, such as GG for “good game,” and share what League of Legends in-game champions typically look like. He also says the company “did not set any parameters around how League of Legends could be portrayed, and did not have any veto power.” He hasn’t sees the final product yet: “We’ll be watching for the first time with everyone else. As huge Simpsons fans, we are just so excited to see what they come up with!”

As to whether League fans might be mad if the show portrays gamers in a negative light, or adds to stereotypes around them, Rozelle says, “Not at all. While some people might have dated assumptions about what the stereotypical gamer looks like, we believe the growing popularity of esports, streaming, and gaming culture has shown that gamers are an incredibly diverse community. The Simpsons is a satirical comedy, and our community gets it.”

Here’s a clip from the upcoming episode here: