If you're having a bad day, here's a pick-me-up: A bunch of Riot higher-ups had to talk about 'what the word goon meant' at a leadership meeting

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"That was a real thing that happened."

Viktor from Netflix's Arcane looks very, very tired at someone off-screen, cloaked in a vivid blue hood.
(Image credit: Riot, Fortiche, Netflix)

Mondays—who needs 'em. I'm not having a particularly great one, myself. But I'm enjoying it far more now, as I've just found out that a bunch of Riot's big bosses had to get up on stage at a leadership meeting and figure out what "gooning" meant.

That's per gameplay director on LoL spinoff Teamfight Tactics, Steven Mortimer, who—in a recent livestream (spotted by our friends at GamesRadar+) said: "I shouldn't tell you this, but I'm going to tell you this and if Riot gets mad at me for it, that's fine."

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"At the leadership thing I was at, I am not kidding, at one point on stage, they were talking about how they didn't know what the word 'goon' meant, and then they started explaining what gooning meant. That was a real thing that happened."

In an industry ruled by the iron fist of growth, filled with live-service after live-service, there's a small, tiny, chaotic part of my ruined heart that's very pleased. We have all collectively managed to be so comprehensively unhinged online that we have forced Riot to acknowledge a synonym for masturbation in an honest-to-goon leadership meeting.

It's not like Riot's the only one getting grilled, mind. Marvel Rivals had to bat off the gooner accusations recently. And it's no real secret that games have yawed hard back into sex appeal—which I've got no real issue with, as long as it's equal-opportunity.

Besides, Riot's gone on the record to say that it sells "skins to make things like Arcane", so if the, uh, self-indulgence helps fund some of the best animation we've seen in recent years, I'm all for it. I can hardly turn my nose up and claim moral superiority when these companies are simply meeting demand with supply.

"The context was fine, and it was funny, and whatever," says Mortimer. "But out-of-context, it was hilarious." I'll say.

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Harvey Randall
Harvey Randall
Staff Writer

Harvey's history with games started when he first begged his parents for a World of Warcraft subscription aged 12, though he's since been cursed with Final Fantasy 14-brain and a huge crush on G'raha Tia. He made his start as a freelancer, writing for websites like Techradar, The Escapist, Dicebreaker, The Gamer, Into the Spine—and of course, PC Gamer. He'll sink his teeth into anything that looks interesting, though he has a soft spot for RPGs, soulslikes, roguelikes, deckbuilders, MMOs, and weird indie titles. He also plays a shelf load of TTRPGs in his offline time. Don't ask him what his favourite system is, he has too many.

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