K-pop group NewJeans will be releasing a song for this year’s League Of Legends World Championship.
The single, titled ‘Gods’, will be released on October 4 at 6AM BST / 2PM KST. It will also launch with an animated music video from Riot Games, and NewJeans have described the song as “a new experience for all of us”.
“It was fun to try a new genre and sound,” shared the group. “Through this collaboration, we are happy to present a song that incorporates both NewJeans’ and League of Legends’ unique colours. We hope it brings you a new sense of empowerment!”
While it will be performed by NewJeans, ‘Gods’ was written by Riot Games’ principal composer Sebastien Najand, along with Mako’s Alex Seaver – who collaborated with Pusha T for another League Of Legends song in 2021.
‘Gods’ has been made to coincide with this year’s League Of Legends World Championship, a major esports tournament that will be hosted in South Korea next month.
“Between Worlds taking place in Korea and NewJeans’ meteoric rise, this partnership felt fated as a true cultural celebration,” shared Carrie Dun, the global head of creative, esports at Riot Games. “We think ‘Gods’ will set the stage for what’s bound to be an incredible Worlds.”
In the past, League Of Legends‘ Worlds anthems have been created by the likes of Lil Nas X, Imagine Dragons, and Against The Current.
Outside of Worlds, Riot Games has a long history of musical collaborations. The developer’s Netflix series, Arcane, features music from Sting, Denzel Curry, Bea Miller, and PVRIS.
Last year, Riot Games Music’s Bob DeBelina told NME that these collaborations require musicians who are “open-minded about stepping somewhat out of their normal world and into ours”.