One way to ensure that a favorite show or movie never disappears from streaming rotation? Buy a physical copy. On Monday, the animation distributor GKIDS announced that fans of Netflix’s League of Legends series Arcane would soon have that chance, with Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray releases planned for later this year.
While Arcane carved out backstories for known League of Legends characters Vi and Jinx, the animated series triumphed on Netflix thanks to a tenuous connection to known lore and an emphasis on stylish action and dramatic character work. Produced by the French animation studio Fortiche for Riot Games, the series was a major hit for the streamer, clocking over 34 million hours of viewership in its first week. And based on Netflix’s recent report of 2023 stats, the series is still finding millions of viewers two years later as people wait and/or catch up ahead of Arcane season 2, due out in November.
Image: Netflix/GKIDS
Details are light on what GKIDS might pack into a physical release, but the initial announcement promises “a full product array later this year, ranging from digital to premium editions, including a 4K version exclusive to the home entertainment release.” But in a rare tone for a Blu-ray licensing agreement, the folks at GKIDS seem over the moon to be making a physical edition of the series possible. The news broke out of the Annecy International Animation Festival, where where the distributor also acquired rights to Science Saru’s anime Dan Da Dan and a 4K restoration of Mamoru Oshii’s masterpiece Angel’s Egg.
“We are MONSTER fans of [Arcane],” said GKIDS founder and CEO Eric Beckman in a statement, “and our team is having a blast collaborating with the creatives at Riot and Fortiche to put together an amazing package for the fans. This project was dreamt up on the lawn by the lake at Annecy, so we are extra happy to be able to announce this collaboration at the festival and true home of animation.”
There’s no word on when Arcane season 1 will hit Blu-ray, but GKIDS promises more announcements to come later this year.