riot

Riot is a noun that denotes a loud, public disturbance caused by a crowd, often marked by vandalism, property damage, or clashes with law enforcement. Riots typically arise during protests, political upheavals, or social tensions, and may involve participants with varying motives. The term can also refer to the disturbances themselves or to the resulting disorder in a community. Responses to riots vary by jurisdiction but commonly include police or crowd-control measures, investigations, and attempts to restore public order while addressing underlying grievances.

Riot Games is a major video game developer and publisher founded in 2006 by Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill. Based in Los Angeles, it operates as a subsidiary of Tencent. Riot Games is best known for League of Legends, released in 2009, a flagship title that helped establish a global esports ecosystem and ongoing content model. The company has expanded with additional games and services, including Valorant (2020), Teamfight Tactics (2019), and Legends of Runeterra (2020). It also maintains Riot Forge, a publishing label for third-party games set in the Runeterra universe. Riot Games has pursued ongoing initiatives in player engagement, support, and developer operations while facing public scrutiny over workplace culture and labor practices, leading to reforms and policy changes in recent years.

Other uses of the term include its general meaning as civil unrest and, less commonly, as the name of organizations or brands that adopt "Riot" in their title. In many contexts, clarification is needed to distinguish between the phenomenon and the company.