Why There Won’t Be an Arcane Season 3: Creative and Budgetary Reasons Explained

The highly acclaimed Netflix series Arcane, based on Riot Games‘s League of Legends, has concluded with its second season, marking the end of the show. The decision to end the series after two seasons has sparked curiosity among fans, with conflicting reports on the reasons behind this conclusion.

According to the creative team, including co-creator Christopher Linke, the decision to end Arcane with its second season was creative. They had a specific ending in mind from the beginning, which meant the story of Arcane would wrap up with this final season. However, a report by Variety suggests that budget constraints also played a significant role. The production costs of Arcane were reportedly much higher than initially planned, leading to a reduction from an initial five-season arc to just two seasons.

Despite the conflicting reasons, the creative team has emphasized that the narrative was adjusted to ensure a satisfying conclusion within the nine episodes of the second season. Linke stated that “Arcane is just the beginning of our larger storytelling journey” and that there are plans to tell more stories within the League of Legends universe, specifically in the world of Runeterra.

Riot Games co-founder and chief product officer Marc Merrill reinforced this, saying, “Our ambitions in entertainment haven’t changed. We were never intending to operate like a traditional studio with traditional timelines.” He added that the team realized that getting it right takes more time than expected, leading to a recalibration of their development and output goals.

While Arcane itself will not continue beyond its second season, fans can look forward to potential spin-off shows or continuations of character stories. Linke mentioned that they are working on new projects, including some that continue the stories of characters from Arcane.