Los Angeles-based Riot Games is making Mercer Island its new home in the Puget Sound region.
The game developer purchased the 156,000-square-foot Mercer Park Workplace, the former Farmers Insurance property located at 3003 77th Ave. SE, in a deal that closed Tuesday. A Riot spokesperson said the company acquired the building for $114.1 million from Ryan Cos., which bought it in April 2020 for $46.5 million.
Riot plans to eventually house more than 400 employees at the new office, set to open in 2023. The space is just minutes away from a planned light rail stop, part of Sound Transit's planned East Link extensionset to open in 2023 as well.
"We know we want to have a presence in the Seattle area in order to attract the kind of talent we need in order to reach our ambitions," said John Doyle, chief operating officer of Riot's games business. "We're going to be here for the foreseeable future. Knowing that and knowing the kind of investment we want to put into a facility to make it feel great for people coming in, working with us, doing the kind of collaborative and creative work we do, it made sense to actually set down roots."
As for why Riot Games chose Mercer Island, a residential community not known for its office space, instead of tech hubs like Bellevue and Seattle, Doyle said Riot was looking for a campus feel that is hard to get in a downtown. Plus, Mercer Island is conveniently located between the two cities with the planned light rail stop.
Architecture and design firm Gensler is working with Riot to redesign the interior of the structure, which was built in 1982, according to King County records. Scott Gelb, president of Riot's games business, said the company looks to foster creativity through art, good lighting, break areas and movable desks. Doyle added that although it's hard to make predictions years in advance, Riot estimates it will surpass the 400-employee mark on Mercer Island about a year after the new space opens.
Riot already has about 50 employees assigned to Bellevue, according to Doyle, where the company has an office. Its current space, however, only holds about 20 people, and wouldn't be large enough for Riot if it weren't for Covid-19 forcing many employees to work remotely. Doyle added that Riot is looking for temporary space on the Eastside with room for about 200 desks as the company prepares to open on Mercer Island.
Riot isn't the first gaming company to grow its presence in the Puget Sound region this year. In September, Bellevue-based game studio Bungie said it is expanding into two floors of the 2+U tower in Seattle. Bungie is also more than doubling the size of its Bellevue headquarters.
Riot, founded in 2006, is behind games like League of Legends and Valorant. In the Seattle area, the company is looking to hire developers, engineers, designers, artists and other roles involved in actually making games, according to Doyle.
"(Seattle) is one of those hubs that is very dense in technical talent and creative talent, both," Doyle said. "It makes it a great place to recruit game makers."
