In the world of Raid: Shadow Legends, many champions in Teleria are based on real people! That’s right – these characters were inspired by content creators, streamers, and even movie stars! Today, we break down who these champions were based on, and we’d love to hear who you want to see in the game next.
Ninja – Tyler Blevins
Richard Tyler Blevins, also known as Ninja, is a content creator and streamer who has also been a part of Esports teams. He made it big in 2017 with his coverage of the Battle Royale game Fortnite, achieving record-breaking viewership on his streams. Ninja remains the most followed Twitch channel with over 19 million followers. He has also participated in game shows like Family Feud and made a cameo in the movie ‘Free Guy.’ Additionally, he has covered games such as PUBG, League of Legends, and Apex Legends to name a few.
In 2021, Ninja teamed up with Raid: Shadow Legends to bring a champion to life.This champion quickly became one of the best free champions in terms of skills and was recently re-released for players to claim for a limited time in 2024. The campaign featured a high production commercial showcasing his journey to become a Shadowkin warrior, which has garnered over 18 million views on YouTube.
SAITO – Cerberusarms
This collaboration began with an invitation for creators to visit the Plarium offices in Ukraine. All the creators participated in an event called the Raid Experience, which included skydiving out of a plane, water sports on a Batman raft, and dressing up as medieval characters for a food fight in a castle tavern! During this trip, Daniel Kim met one of Raid’s lead character producers and jokingly asked to be put in the game. Surprisingly, they loved the idea and immediately began working on bringing his champion to life.
Daniel wanted to become a demon or undead samurai, capable of attacking bosses multiple times to inflict insane damage. Given that he reviews swords on his Cerberusarms channel, the samurai theme was a perfect fit for him. Unlike other collaborations, Saito wasn’t released for free, but he was one of the first champions based on a real person to be brought to life in the game!
LYDIA
Lydia The Deathsiren is the ultimate reward for completing the Faction Wars in Raid: Shadow Legends. Interestingly, in a video on Raids official YouTube channel, it was revealed that this character is based on one of the game producers named Lydia. This was a fun discovery, as there was no official announcement about the inspiration behind this champion. It must be incredible for the producer to see herself as one of the best milestone champions in the game!
S1MPLE – Aleksandr The Sharpshooter
Oleksandr Olehovych Kostyliev, also known as S1mple, is one of the greatest professional Counter-Strike players of all time. His main titles are CS:GO and Counter-Strike 2, where he has competed in numerous esports events under gaming organizations such as Team Liquid and Natus Vincere. Over his career, he has won 10 international tournaments and earned 17 MVP awards. The Raid x S1mple event launched in December 2021, featuring a champion based on him named Aleksandr The Sharpshooter, which was available to claim for free through a 7-day login program.
RONDA ROUSEY
Ronda Rousey, a former WWE and UFC champion, the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in judo, and a star of blockbuster movies, joined the world of Raid: Shadow Legends in 2023. The collaboration featured two high-production commercials where she battled the Fire Knight and even put the Dragon in an armbar! Released as part of a daily login program, her champion is all about inflicting massive damage on foes. Artistically, she has two in-game skins: one reflecting her as a fierce fighting champion and the other depicting her in a glacial form with icy fists.
XENA WARRIOR PRINCESS – LUCY LAWLESS
Wielding her iconic chakram, Xena: Warrior Princess joined the world of Teleria in 2023 as a limited-time character in the first Champion Pass. This champion is based on the 90s TV series character Xena, played by Lucy Lawless, who has also appeared in various other movies and shows. This collaboration was a brilliant move by Raid, as it resonated well with their player demographic and she fits well in the Barbarians faction as a powerful damage dealer. However, the downside was that players had to purchase the Champion Pass during her release, and she has never been available to summon from shards, meaning those who missed out will never have the chance to acquire her.
FOLI – THE GUYVER
During the beta era of Raid: Shadow Legends, one of the original game moderators, Folier, had The Guyver as his avatar picture. This character is from a 1991 science fiction movie loosely based on the Japanese manga series by Yoshika Takaya. While this champion wasn’t directly created based on a person, it’s fascinating to see Foli’s inspiration come from a blend of their moderator’s name and a character they admired!
