A lot of these streamers make a living from advertisements played on their stream. If they are looking at the 30min+ wait times between matches without being able to play other things during that down time, they are going to lose viewers or just stop playing LoL. Either is bad for Riot as it not only paints them in a bad, totalitarian light, it opens can easily cause loss of eyes on their games as streamers say, “fuck this” and just go play something else. Sure, there are those that will stick with Riot out of some sense of obligation, but there will be just that many less eyeballs on their product.

Rioters are gamers. We love games. As we strive to create the best player experiences, it’s important that we understand play beyond the Fields of Justice. This means that we play games – and not just our own. The new Riot Play Fund encourages plentiful play by giving each Rioter $300 to spend freely on any video game, whether MOBA, FPS, console or PC. We’re equal opportunity players here. Rioters improve their gaming skills and report back with what they’ve learned during their research. We then apply these learnings in the work we do.

Do as we say, not as we do?