Behind the scenes of the "What Could Have Been" song in Arcane

Nicholas James Published 21/12/2021

Arcane, League of Legends’ hit animated adaptation on Netflix, got heaps of praise for its soundtrack and the original compositions made for it. Artist Alex “Mako” Seaver took fans behind the scenes on the creation of the ninth episode’s chilling finale song “What Could Have Been” and explained what it took to create it.

In a video on his official Youtube channel, Mako breaks down the long and complicated creative process that lead up to Arcane’s release. Mako remarks that by the time he began to work on prototypes for Arcane’s haunting final moments, he’d been involved with Arcane and its characters for nearly three years. According to Seaver, once he received the visuals for Arcane’s cliffhanger ending, the song came to him rather easily.

Seaver recalls regularly getting emotional while showing the song to coworkers due to the length of time he’d spent crafting all of it. Seaver even showcases different iterations of the song, including the first proper demo of What Could Hvae Been. The slow and haunting piano with gentle vocals were present from even this first build of the song. From there, Mako shows how tweaking the song further improved it.

Mako highlights mistakes in What Could Have Been

After making adjustments to an early verse, Mako comments on the difficulties encountered with the song reaching its apex too quickly. He walks through the process of the audio team finding their way back on track to the purpose of the song, and the pressure to get a final sound before a full album release. These mistakes are all part of the creative process, and he ultimately was able to achieve something great with What Could Have Been.

Mako also touches on the process of working with Sting, who was Riot Games’ number one choice for vocal artists to be featured on the What Could Have Been track. Seaver says he never expected the music legend to say yes, but was overjoyed to hear that he had accepted Riot Games’ proposal.

Nicholas James

About Nicholas James

Nicholas James is a gaming writer with a passion for all things geekdom, as well as live theater. Nicholas is best known for covering League of Legends and other top MOBA titles, but his expertise covers numerous games across multiple genres. When not watching the LCS or playing the latest new release, Nicholas can be found doing some tabletop gaming and painting his favorite miniatures. Nicholas has also published with Hotspawn, TheGamer, Dexerto, Esports.gg and other industry outlets.

View full profile

Read Also

League of Legends

LEC Playoffs Round 1 Betting Tips: G2 vs Vitality & Karmine Corp vs GIANTX Ben Boland The 2026 LEC Summer Playoffs are finally here in the world of LoL betting. After weeks of regular-season action, the battle to get to Worlds 2026 is heating up. Team Vitality, G2 Esports, GiantX, and Karmine Corp start their playoff run in the upper bracket. Both sets of matches have a lot of betting potential, with some decent value to be found. Here are some of the best bets to ...

League of Legends

Caps Hall of Legends skins prices and dates revealed Hannan Mundia Caps is the latest League of Legends player to be inducted into the Hall of Legends, and the LEC player’s dedicated skins have been revealed, including their prices and release dates. The Hall of Legends is Riot Games’ way to honor a handful of the most well-known and celebrated professional players associated with LoL. The first inductee was naturally Faker, while the second was Uzi. The third player is Caps, ...

League of Legends

Five Support Champions To Pick Up in LoL Patch 26.17 Ben Boland The support meta in League of Legends is one of the most highly discussed roles in the game right now. With Riot doubling down on the roaming support playstyle, we will likely see more champions added to the pool around the time of Worlds 2026, which begins on 15 October. At the time of writing this article, the current patch, 26.17, is being tested on the PBE, with the launch ...

League of Legends

These Are Five Top Lane Champions To Pick Up in League of Legends Patch 26.17 Ben Boland League of Legends patch 26.17 is just around the corner, and with that patch comes more changes to the role. The days of ADCs in the lane are starting to be a thing of the past, with more bruisers hitting the gym before the launch of 26.17. Many top laners are receiving buffs on the new patch, while powerhouses such as Nasus and Vayne are on the chopping block, making ...

League of Legends

Here Is What To Expect From the League of Legends Patch 26.17 Ben Boland It’s less than a week until the release of League of Legends Patch 26.17, and with this patch comes some significant nerfs to popular champions, item adjustments, and targeting roaming supports as mage bottom lanes dominate the meta. While there is plenty to unpack in this week's patch from Riot Games, two champions, Vayne and Xerath, have received the biggest nerfs across the board. Here are some of the biggest ...

League of Legends

Trade on LGD vs Bilibili Gaming at Polymarket — Use Promo Code WINGGPREMAR Ben Boland Bilibili Gaming comes into their best-of-three series against LGD Gaming as the overwhelming favorites, with Polymarket traders giving the MSI finalists an 83% implied probability of winning at the time of writing this article. The prediction market doesn’t give LGD much of a chance at all, and with traders backing BLG heavily, it paints a picture of who is most likely to win this series in the LPL Split 3, ...

League of Legends

Which Teams Should Be Panicking Ahead of LoL Worlds 2026? Ben Boland The 2026 League of Legends World Championship is fast approaching, with the tournament beginning on 15 October. 19 of the best teams that esports has to offer will do battle in North America for a shot at the Summoner's Cup. For teams like Bilibili Gaming and Hanwha Life Esports, their fates are already sealed without stepping foot on the Rift again, but for the rest of the teams, they will ...