Valorant Is Impacting How Riot Games Views Adding Voice Chat to League of Legends

One of the main producers behind League of Legends has said that Riot Games’ other major title, Valorant, is impacting how the studio views implementing voice chat in the long-running MOBA. For an incredibly long time, League of Legends fans have made it known that they would like to see non-party voice chat added to the game to improve communication with other random players. And while this isn’t a feature that Riot has ever committed to adding, it seems like its inclusion in Valorant could be shaping how the developer views the potential of it coming to League. 

In a recent discussion with ComicBook.com, League of Legends executive producer Jeremy Lee opened up about the idea of one day bringing non-party voice chat to the game. Although Lee didn’t say that there are any plans to do so at the moment, he did talk about how Valorant is helping give the League of Legends development team feedback on how this could work in the title. Furthermore, he expressed that Riot is still very much aware that LoL players want to see this added eventually, despite ongoing silence from the studio on the topic. 

“If players are talking about it, you can be sure that we are talking about it on the team as well. We don’t see any decision as final on the game. Our thoughts about it continue to evolve and if we can find a way that resolves some issues, then I’m certainly open to it,” Lee said. “I think one of the things that I’m excited about is the progress that Valorant [has made]. Anna Donlon, who’s the EP for Valorant, she and I talk about supporting features in the game that create a more safe and inclusive environment for all players. We now have work streams that go not just into League of Legends, but across all of Riot’s games that are trying to make progress in some of the areas that I think could help make voice a more positive experience.”

In the immediate future, it still seems like League of Legends isn’t going to receive the same voice chat structure that Valorant boasts. And while this could change down the line, if nothing else, Riot is at least looking to further flesh out the ping system in LoL as part of the game’s 2023 Pre-Season update. Whether or not these more in-depth ping options help to drastically improve communication remains to be seen, but hopefully, they’ll make for a satisfying middle ground for the time being. 

Are you hoping that the voice chat features seen in Valorant eventually end up also appearing in League of Legends? Or are you more than fine with how LoL currently operates with communication? Let me know either down in the comments or send me a message on Twitter at @MooreMan12.