
For over a decade, Overwolf has proudly supported in-game creators building experiences for players of Riot’s beloved titles. From companion apps to overlays and analytical tools, we’ve worked side by side with Riot’s team & talented developers to help enhance player experiences in a way that’s safe, meaningful, and sustainable as a profession. We’re gamers ourselves and as such we’re not only a “creator first” company, but also fully believe in Riot’s “player first” culture.
On May 29th, Riot announced a policy change: "Third party in-game advertisements are no longer allowed, this includes ads in overlays, during loading screens, and in the Riot Client". While we understand and respect Riot’s right to control the player experience, we also recognize the concern this raises for the many creators whose livelihoods depend on building useful tools and overlays.
Our Approach for Ads
Overwolf has always held player safety and experience as core values. Our ad platform is built to be secure, respectful, and compliant - not just with our policies, but with those of the games we support. To be clear:
- We always follow The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) regulations.
- We have never permitted floating or intrusive ads (not allowed by IAB). All ads served through Overwolf are embedded in app windows and require user engagement.
- Developers are required to follow strict design and monetization guidelines, focused on enhancing (not interrupting) the game experience.
- We actively review and enforce compliance, both through automated systems and through direct oversight in partnership with developers and ad partners.
Our ad policy and UX best practices exist for a reason: to ensure that players, creators, and game developers like Riot all benefit from the ecosystem we’ve built.
What We’re Doing Now
While the full scope of Riot’s policy update is still being assessed, we are already working on two avenues:
- We are prioritizing discussing this policy with the Riot team to gain additional clarity on the new guidelines.
- We'll explore alternative monetization methods, always keeping user safety and game integrity in mind. We intend to contact affected developers to help them navigate the changes and prepare for upcoming transitions.
We don’t have all the answers yet, but we are committed to finding the right path forward and minimizing disruption to the creators who’ve invested time, creativity, and care into building apps for the Riot community.
Moving Forward, Together
Riot Games has long been recognized as one of the most community-first studios in the world, and the players who use community apps and tools are among the most dedicated to Riot’s titles.
We understand the motivations behind the recent policy update and believe that a balanced, player-first approach is possible - one that protects the player experience while sustaining the creator ecosystem.
Overwolf has always operated with full transparency and compliance, and we’ve worked tirelessly to support both developers and game creators. Unfortunately, not every actor in this space shares the same commitment, and we hope the actions of a few won’t diminish the opportunities for many.
Let’s work together to create a win-win for creators, players, and the games we all love.