The team behind hugely popular multiplayer online game have confirmed that their 2026 World Championship anthem will be performed by True Damage, a virtual band made up of in-game characters.
The first Worlds anthem was released in 2014 after pop titans Imagine Dragons worked with Riot Games on uplifting synth smash ‘Warriors’. The song soundtracked the annual event, which sees professional esports teams going head-to-head in the chaotic battle arena to prove they’re the best in the world.
Since then, artists such as brooding electro rockers PVRIS, punk-pop party-starters Against The Current and K-pop heavyweights NewJeans have all contributed to Worlds music. Rapper Lil Nas X, superstar DJ Zedd and heavy metallers Linkin Park are also behind official hype tracks for the tournament.
Riot Games – the studio behind – are doing something a little different for 2026 though. ‘Know My Name’ is just as dynamic as fan-favourites ‘Heavy Is The Crown’ or ‘Legends Never Die’ but the inspirational track comes from True Damage, a virtual hip-hop band made up of existing champions – Akali, Qiyana, Senna, Ekko and Yasuo.
“In the same way you might spend hundreds of hours listening to your favourite artist, players spend an enormous amount of time with our characters,” Riot Games’ Ellie Lehman, who’s behind the ‘Know My Name’ video, tells about the decision to go with an animated artist for this year’s anthem. Riot’s goal is for the virtual band to deepen that connection between player and gun-toting champion. “The core things you love about them are there, but you get to discover new sides of who they are in this universe.”
Take deadly assassin Akali. In the world of , she’s an agile, blade-wielding killing machine but in True Damage, she’s a determined young rapper who’s determined to be the best. “And of course,” added Lehman, “The music has to be good.”
True Damage made their first animated appearance in 2019 with ‘Giants’, a gargantuan track that’s racked up more than 175million Spotify streams and features the vocal talents of Becky G, Keke Palmer, Duckwrth and I-DLE’s Soyeon as the champions. This Friday (October 9) True Damage return with a new cast of famous voices bringing them to life. We can’t tell you the full line-up but Vic Mensa is behind Ekko and Grammy-winning R&B singer Coco Jones is taking over from Palmer as cursed warrior Senna.
“I was just really drawn to the idea of stepping into this world where music and gaming can all come together,” Jones said of her decision to get involved in the project.
Senna has been part of the expansive universe since 2019 so a big part of Jones’ task was working out what she could bring to the undead Wraith. “You’re using your voice to communicate a character’s personality and story while still bringing something authentic from yourself to it,” she explained. “Vocally, I could really connect with Senna’s confidence and intentionality. She’s someone who has taken the time to develop her own sound and knows when she has something she wants to say. There’s something really powerful about that as an artist, and I wanted that sense of purpose to come through in my performance. It just felt like a really exciting creative opportunity.”
True Damage’s first (and until now, only) single ‘Giants’ took inspiration from K-pop and traditional Spanish music but ‘Know My Name’ pays homage to New York City, which will be hosting the World Championship in November.
“Drill was a really big inspiration for us this time around,” said Alex Shahmiri, who works at Riot and helped shape the music direction for ‘Know My Name’. “We needed to find a space within hip-hop that still felt authentic to True Damage, but also brought the energy needed for a Worlds anthem. So you’ve got some darker tones throughout the track, but they’re brought into the triumphant esports sound with a live drumline and brass.
“Lyrically, hip-hop has always touched on themes of grit, resilience, overcoming obstacles – all the ingredients to a great sports story,” added Lehman, which made the genre an obvious choice for a Worlds anthem.
And ‘Know My Name’ isn’t just for getting League Of Legends players excited before crucial head-to-head matches at Worlds, the team at Riot want the song to get you amped up as well. “I really hope people can return to ‘Know My Name’ when they need that burst of inspiration or an extra boost to help push them towards their goals, whatever they may be,” said Lehman. “I want people to feel empowered to keep pushing toward whatever their goal is, but also to recognise that you don’t have to follow anyone else’s path to get there,” added Jones.
Worlds isn’t the only time Riot has brought your favourite artists into the world of gaming. Earlier this year, Bring Me The Horizon’s Oli Sykes and Spiritbox’s Courtney LaPlante became the latest musicians to soundtrack a tournament of tactical hero-shooter , following in the footsteps of XG, Ashnikko and KATSEYE while animated Netflix spin-off featured an impressive soundtrack of original songs from Twenty One Pilots, Stray Kids, Denzel Curry, King Princess, Stromae and more.
“Growing up, a lot of my interest in music came from what I was hearing in games. I remember buying my first CD because of . So for me, I think video games are just as important as film and TV when it comes to spotlighting artists,” said Shahmiri.
“Artists collaborating with games for these really bespoke moments offers another platform to find their fans and meet them where they’re at in these spaces,” added Lehman. “It also allows fans of the artist to discover new games. It also allows players to discover new artists or artists they may not otherwise have heard about.”
True Damage are one of four virtual bands made up of champions and the goal is to keep pushing the boundaries of how music and video games can crossover, said Shahmiri. “We’ve seen and appreciated how players love Riot’s music, to the point that it’s a joke that Riot’s really a music company fronting as a games company. We know that with every music release there are high expectations and while we might not always get it right, it’s something we put a lot of care into,” he continued.
“There’s a lot of excitement around how we can better serve players with music, so I’m excited to see what we can cook up in the next few years. I think the possibilities are endless because we still have barely scratched the surface on what this alternate universe can be.”
‘Know My Name’ is out October 8 and you can pre-save it here