League of Legends Animated Series Arcane Delayed to 2021

Riot Games has delayed the release of the animated League of Legends series called Arcane to 2021 because of complications arising from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The animated series was first announced late last year during Riot’s 10-year celebration of League and was originally planned for a release some time in 2020 as indicated in the announcement trailer shown above. Greg “Ghostcrawler” Street, the head of Riot’s creative development, shared the latest on the series and said Riot’s bummed about the delay but that it’s a necessary one to get the series ready for its full 2021 release.

News of the animated series’ delay was up front in Riot’s update on the status of the first League project of its kind. Like many other products that’ve fallen victim to current working conditions, Arcane has been delayed because of the coronavirus. More updates on that will be shared as the revised 2021 timeframe approaches, Street said.

“Everyone here at Riot is bummed,” Street said. “We were really looking forward to bringing you the show this year, but we need to balance our excitement for the story with the safety and well-being of our teams and partners. Our revised plan is to release Arcane in 2021, so stay tuned to our channels for more specific updates as we get closer.”

Street continued to list some of the complications that have arisen from the unexpected working conditions. Substituting in-person meetings for video calls was one roadblock along with technical complications that compounded until the result was a delay.

But even with this series being delayed, League players have other products related to the game to look forward to in the coming weeks and months. League’s still been getting biweekly updates with new champions on the horizon throughout this year, and the mobile and console spin-off called League of Legends: Wild Rift just entered into its alpha phase for players to test. That game is planned for a mobile release later this year with consoles to follow sometime after mobile is available.

Aside from League, Riot’s also been working on Valorant, the new tactical shooter which just launched out of beta earlier this month. It’s got unique Agents with different abilities, an arsenal of weapons that are lethal in just a few shots, and a battle pass for players to work through if they plan on sticking with the game for a while.

Look for more updates from Riot on Arcane as work on the series continues.