What is Pro View and Why is Riot Games Sunsetting It?

Riot Games announced that it was terminating its League of Legends Pro View, a subscription-based service that allows fans and analysts to have a closer, in-depth look at how the pros played the game. But starting February people will not be able to access or use the features of Pro League, it stated in an official message on the website.

The Pro View allowed fans to watch and analyze the games of the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS), League of Legends European Championship (LEC), and international events like Worlds.

Why is Riot retiring Pro View?

The decision to sunset Pro View comes after Riot saw a lack of interest in the service as a standalone subscription-based model. It did clarify however that there was a decent interest in the free version of player point-of-view (POV) feeds.

The POV feeds allowed fans to watch the players compete on stage and could watch their movement in game, their camera angle, in-game chats, and how the players cast spells and activated items.

Riot gave free access to POVs of certain matches, including some international ones. The free version of Pro View allowed fans to switch between two pro POVs per game that were handpicked by Riot. The free access also allowed viewers to access an upgraded game timeline integrated with highlight reels and statistics. But it came with advertisements integrated into the content.

Pro View Premium Subscription

In case one wanted to switch to a different player’s POV, they needed to have subscribed to the premium service. Initially, people had to pay $14.99 to access the POV features and the videos on demand (VODs). Later, it was reduced to $6.99 a month during the 2021 Summer Split.

The premium version had exclusive content such as weekly top plays. highlights and also let viewers tune into ‘extended’ player comms.

The concept of Pro View was first announced in 2019 and went through significant changes over the years. In 2020, this service went into hibernation and made its return only in the 2021 Summer Split. What initially started off as a fully paid service, later started offering limited free access to the fans with new features. Sadly, this year Riot has called off the service which was a boon to many coaches and analysts.

As usual, there were mixed reactions on social media but the majority of them, including analysts and pro players, voiced their disappointment after Riot’s announcement.

On a promising note, Riot said that it is looking at alternatives to bring similar content in the future.