Alex Cole

Head of Gameplay for Teamfight Tactics Riot Games

Alex Cole is the Head of Gameplay for Teamfight Tactics at Riot Games. He oversees the strategy and vision for all of TFT's game updates from conception to the final patch. Alex ensures cross-craft teams are collaborating and delivering cohesive, innovative, and novel experiences to global players. Under his leadership, TFT became the largest PC strategy game in the world and continues to remain the leader in the auto battler genre. Before Alex joined Riot in 2022, he was a Business Lead at Meta where he served as a product leader across several apps including Instagram and Facebook. Previously he was a Clinical Research at Seattle Children's where he led research on genetic interaction between autism spectrum disorders and infantile seizures. He graduated from University of Georgia where he studied Psychology and Neuroscience.

Conference Day 2 – 9th September 2026

9:30 AM TFT is Forever: Designing for Cyclical Reengagement

In a market obsessed with retention, Teamfight Tactics (TFT), the world's largest PC strategy game, took a different approach to live service. TFT treats player drop-off and reengagement as a natural and healthy part of the experience. Early on, this product strategy came at a cost, but through continuous iteration, TFT evolved its model. The game now deploys structured four-month "set cycles," leans into thematics that give each release a distinct identity and creates additional moments for players to return through events, limited-time game modes, and high-scope balance updates. In this session, Alex Cole, Head of Gameplay for TFT at Riot Games shares the story of learning through missteps, adapting quickly, and ultimately building a more sustainable, player-first approach to live service.

• Accepting churn to build healthier player relationships, not endless engagement loops.

• Designing adaptive content cycles using real player behaviour, not assumptions.

• Creating trusted community touchpoints that respond to feedback and encourage returns.

Check out the incredible speaker line-up to see who will be joining Alex.

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