Fortiche
French animation studio
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Fortiche Production SAS is a French animation studio headquartered in Paris with a branch in Montpellier and Las Palmas (Spain). It features a team of up to 450 people across creation, direction, and production. The studio is now expanding into original IP development and major international productions.
- Pascal Charrue
- Jérôme Combe
- Arnaud Delord
 Logo used since 2009 | |
Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Animation |
| Founded | June 3, 2009 |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | , France |
Number of locations | 3 |
| Products | |
| Revenue | 16,261,500 euro (2020)  |
Number of employees | 350 (2022) |
| Website | forticheprod |
Founded in 2009 in Paris, the studio is renowned for its signature 2D/3D hybrid aesthetic. The studio is best known for its long-standing collaboration with Riot Games, having produced the hit series Arcane and several cinematics and music videos for League of Legends since 2013. Fortiche also produced music videos for high-profile artists such as Stromae, Pomme, Coldplay and Gorillaz.
Development
Fortiche Production SAS was founded in 2009 and initially created commercials for Coca-Cola, Honda, Samsung, Panasonic and MTV. From the start, a combination of 2D and 3D animation has defined the studio's style, the "Touche Fortiche".[1]
They moved on to creating music videos for Freak Kitchen, Gorillaz and LIMOUSINE. These projects caught the attention of video game studios such as Ubisoft, Volition Studios, Carbine Studios and Riot Games.[2] For the latter, Fortiche produced game trailers in the form of short films along with music videos, most notably Pop/Stars.[3]
They eventually joined the production of the series Rabbids Invasion, which aired from 2013 to 2019 for Netflix and Nickelodeon in partnership with Ubisoft, by creating the series' title sequence.[4]
In 2015, the French channel France 2 broadcast the 55-minute historical documentary film Le dernier Gaulois about the Gallic Wars animated by Fortiche. Motion capture technology was used for this.[5]
At the 2017 industry fair Cartoon Movie in Bordeaux, the studio pitched the feature film project Miss Saturne with a pilot short film.[6]
Arcane
In November 2021, Fortiche, in collaboration with Riot Games, released the series Arcane set in the League of Legends-universe on the streaming platforms Netflix and in China on Tencent Video. It was the world's most-watched series on Netflix for two weeks in November 2021 and was extremely well received by critics.[7][8]
During the six year creation of Arcane, staff numbers grew from around 15 to around 300.[9] The studio expanded in 2020 with branches in Montpellier and Las Palmas. The studio's revenue rose to €16.4 million for 2021.[10] Le Figaro reported that the budget of Arcane was €60–80 million.[11] In November 2021 Riot-Games-CEO Nicolo Laurent announced via Twitter that a second season was commissioned from Fortiche.[12] The second and final season premiered on November 9, 2024 and concluded on November 23. In total, 700 people worked on the series at various points throughout its eight-year production cycle.[13]
On March 14, 2022, Riot Games announced a new equity investment in Fortiche Production.[14] Under the terms of the investment, Riot now holds a significant non-controlling stake in Fortiche. Brian Wright (Chief Content Officer at Riot) and Brendan Mulligan (Director of Corporate Development at Riot) have also joined Fortiche's board of directors.[15]
Original productions
Penelope of Sparta
In 2023, Fortiche announced the development of its first original animated feature film, Penelope of Sparta. The film is described as a reimagining of The Odyssey set within a science-fiction and fantasy universe. The plot serves as a prequel to Homer’s epic poem, focusing on the teenage years of Penelope and Odysseus.[16]
Miss Saturne (Mini-series)
At the 2025 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Fortiche announced the development of the animated mini-series Miss Saturne, a collaboration with Arte Numérique and Les Storygraphes.[17] Originally conceived as a feature film and presented at Cartoon Movie in 2017, the production has since been reformatted into ten ten-minute episodes.[18] Adapted from the novel by Barbara Israël, the series is aimed at teenagers and young adults, featuring an aesthetic heavily influenced by 1980s New wave music. The story follows 16-year-old Mercy and her companion, Tom, as they flee their past aboard a night train departing from Nice. The series will explore themes of adolescence, grief, and identity formation.
Filmography
Films
Television series
- Rocket & Groot (2017)
- Arcane (2021–2024)[20]
- Miss Saturne (in production)
Music videos
- "Hurts Like Heaven" - Coldplay (2012)[21]
- "DoYaThing" - Gorillaz featuring James Murphy and Andre 3000 (2012)
- "La Gaviota" - Limousine (2012)[22]
- "Get Jinxed" - Agnete Kjølsrud and Christian Linke (2013)
- "Warriors" - Imagine Dragons (2014)
- "Freak of the Week" - Freak Kitchen
- "Pop/Stars" - K/DA featuring Madison Beer, (G)I-DLE and Jaira Burns (2018)
- "Rise" - Mako featuring The Word Alive and The Glitch Mob (2018)
- "Enemy" - Imagine Dragons and J.I.D (2021)
- "Blood Sweat & Tears" - Sheryl Lee Ralph (2024)
- "Bite Marks" - TEYA (2025)[23]
- "Ma Meilleure Ennemie" - Stromae, Pomme (2025)[24]
Video game cinematics
- "A Dark Gambit" (2025) - Cinematic launching the 2025 League of Legends competitive season
- "Beginning of the End" (2025) - Mid-season cinematic for League of Legends
- "Twilight's End" (2025) - Concluding cinematic for the 2025 League of Legends competitive season
Exhibitions
2023: "Eternal Mucha" Exhibition at the Grand Palais Immersif
From March 22 to November 5, 2023, Fortiche participated in the "Eternal Mucha" exhibition at the Grand Palais Immersif in Paris. The studio presented pre-production assets from the Arcane series to illustrate the profound influence of Alphonse Mucha’s Art Nouveau style on the show's art direction.[25]
2025: First Exhibition dedicated to Arcane in Montpellier
The first-ever exhibition solely dedicated to the creation of Arcane was held from January 27 to February 21, 2025, at Montpellier City Hall. Organized in collaboration with Riot Games and the City of Montpellier, this event allowed visitors to explore the series through original artwork, storyboards, and final renders, illustrating the entire visual development pipeline.[26]
2025: Annecy Festival Exhibition
As part of the 2025 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Fortiche and Riot Games, in partnership with CITIA and the City of Annecy, presented an exhibition from June 8 to 14 at the UBA Pâquier site. The showcase featured original concepts, visual development art, set designs, and audiovisual content retracing every stage of the production process.[27]