League of Legends maker Riot Games is set to ramp up its licensing efforts with the hire of a new head of consumer products.

As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, Ron Johnson (pictured) joins having worked at both Disney and Nickelodeon as Riot looks to do more with its brand with merchandise moving forward.

"When you look at the licensed merchandise that's been sold around our IP around the globe, we're incredibly under-developed," Johnson explained.

"Our brand is under-penetrated, with China being first and foremost. That's our biggest market from a player database, and a place where we have huge opportunities to expand our business in licensing. So that's one of the low-hanging fruit; we'll definitely focus on the Chinese market going forward."

He continued: "While gaming is still relatively young, it's far and away the fastest growing business in licensing. Partners out there, retailers or traditional licensing partners from a manufacturing perspective, are really engaging with gaming companies to look at what great IP partnerships look like going forward."