American Express launching line of League of Legends cards

Financial services company American Express is set to reveal a line of credit cards decorated with scenes and characters from Riot Games' multiplayer online battle arena League of Legends, the company announced today.

American Express will launch the cards on Wednesday, which are part of partnership between the company and League of Legends developer Riot. Included in the partnership is a line of prepaid debit cards that reward cardholders with Riot Points, the developer's in-game currency, for making real-world purchases.

Cardholders will receive 1,000 Riot Points for signing up with the card, and can earn an additional 1,000 Points for adding $20 to it. An additional 1,000 Points will be earned after the first 10 purchases using the card and 10,000 Points will be awarded for linking the card to a checking account. Users can rack up additional points for every dollar spent after linking the account. Signing up for the card does not require a credit check, minimum balance or an activation fee. Once linked, the card will continue to work like a regular debit card.

American Express general manager for online and mobile in the United States Stefan Happ told The New York Times that the partnership was established to "expand our traditional reach beyond the mass affluent." According to the report, League of Legends' 32 million-strong player base and a "staggering one billion hours of game play a month" were American Express' primary reasons for teaming up with Riot.

"It gives you a sense of how deeply engaged the players are in playing this game," Happ said. "We are about loyalty, we are about contact and long-lasting engagement. This is an ideal fit from an audience perspective."

A dedicated American Express website explaining the card will launch on Wednesday.