Fortiche: a French success story

Set in the world of the League of Legends video game, created by American company Riot Games, the series Arcane, that triumphed when it aired in 2021, is supported by Riot Games and French studio Fortiche. In November, Netflix will be offering the second season of Arcane, as will the Chinese platform Tencent. The phenomenon series is based on the League of Legends video game, which counts 152 million players worldwide.

Launched in 2009, the game is the brainchild of Riot Games (USA). Around League of Legends, Riot Games has developed a 360° strategy, of which Arcane is one of the components. To produce the series, the company partnered with the French studio Fortiche, with whom it had collaborated on several occasions in the past.

Thanks to Arcane, the French company has acquired major visibility on the international scene.

In 2009, video game veterans Jérôme Combe and Pascal Charrue and music video director Arnaud Delord created their own animation company, Fortiche, based in Paris. From the outset, they made their uniqueness clear.

We wanted to offer content for both young adults and adults. Visually, we wanted to have a real ‘signature’, which was embodied in a mix of 3D and 2D – Charrue.

Fortiche made a name for itself in music videos, advertising films and video game teasers. In 2012, the young studio produced an advertising film to mark the partnership between Converse shoes and the British music band Gorillaz, directed by Jamie Hewlett, cofounder of the band with Damon Albarn.

The same year saw the unveiling of the La Gaviota video, produced by Fortiche for the French music group Limousine and directed by Jérôme Combe.

With La Gaviota, we’ve definitely found our style – Charrue.

The advertising film and video clip caught the eye of Riot Games. The American studio asked Fortiche to come up with a video clip for League of Legends. The result was Get Jinxed (2013), directed by Jérôme Combe, Pascal Charrue and Arnaud Delord.

After that, Fortiche established a strong connection with Riot Games, while working with other partners, and went on to create additional videos centered on the game.

Continue to read article online on the fall issue of The European Animation Journal.