Riot Games taps Linkin Park for 2024 League of Legends World Championship anthem

Riot Games announced global music superstars Linkin Park will sing an anthem at the next big League of Legends event.

The group will perform the 2024 League of Legends World Championship anthem, Heavy Is The Crown. This kind of marriage signals the bond between entertainment and games, where one superstar can join with another and drum up far more interest together. In this case, it’s music meets games, and it shows that Riot Games is always prepared to tap top flight entertainers to introduce its esports event.

Fans can watch the music video for “Heavy Is The Crown” on YouTube or stream the track anywhere you can listen to music on Tuesday, September 24 at 8 a.m. Pacific time. Tune in here for the premiere.

Heavy Is The Crown follows Linkin Park’s No. 1 single The Emptiness Machine, which marked the band’s first brand new music in seven years. The song exploded to the top of the charts, tallying over 80 million streams as the band launched straight into a six-date arena tour. Their 8th studio album From Zero releases November 15 on Warner Records.

Heavy Is The Crown is a monumental collaboration for the band with the gaming industry. The League of Legends World Championship, known as Worlds, is the best-known LoL event, drawing more than six million concurrent viewers last year.

“It’s been an amazing experience partnering with Riot to bring this anthem to the global League of Legends community,” said Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park, in a statement. “The song is a real highlight of this new era for us, harnessing our signature sound and infusing it with fresh energy. We’re so excited for players and fans to experience this!”

“The Worlds anthem is the music moment that League players look forward to the most each year, and it has become a highly coveted fixture in music across the world, “ said Maria Egan, global head of music at Riot Games, in a statement. “As the band embarks on this exciting new chapter, we’re honored to partner with them for the 2024 anthem. The lyrics for ‘Heavy Is The Crown’ perfectly capture the narrative for this year’s Worlds and they are a powerful companion to the themes of our music video.”

Billboard calls Linkin Park’s return “triumphant” as they join the ranks of previous Worlds Anthem performers including global superstars Imagine Dragons, Lil Nas X, Zedd, NewJeans and more. These anthems have collectively amassed over 10 billion streams across DSPs.

Most recently, NewJeans’ 2023 Worlds anthem Gods broke the record for the biggest debut in anthem history. It has amassed nearly 270 million global streams across DSPs and its music video has almost 100 million views on the League of Legends YouTube channel.