League of Legends developer Riot Games announced back in 2020 that it was working on an MMO using the massively successful MOBA property. Since then, fans haven’t heard much about the game outside of the news that the project had lost its lead producer in 2023. That said, Riot has been working on several projects, including the fighting game that was recently given the 2XKO name. With how much work it would take to get a League of Legends MMO off the ground, it made sense that the developer went relatively quiet about the project. Earlier today, Riot co-founder Marc Merrill took to Twitter to finally give fans an update about the MMO project. Unfortunately, it looks like fans are going to be waiting quite a bit longer.
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League of Legends MMO Update
The good news out of Merrill’s update is that the team is still working on the League of Legends MMO. Merrill was quick to mention that, knowing that players have been waiting for news and some were expecting the worst. However, that doesn’t mean the project is coming to fruition anytime soon. That’s because the team decided to take the project in a different direction, in hopes of providing fans with something they’ve never seen before.
“After a lot of reflection and discussion, we’ve decided to reset the direction of the project some time ago. This decision wasn’t easy, but it was necessary. The initial vision just wasn’t different enough from what you can play today,” Merrill said. “We don’t believe you all want an MMO that you’ve played before with a Runeterra coat of paint; to truly do justice to the potential of Runeterra and to meet the incredibly high expectations of players around the world, we need to do something that truly feels like a significant evolution of the genre.This is a huge challenge, but one that our team of deeply passionate MMO players and game development veterans is incredibly motivated to pursue.”
To help facilitate these goals, the team has brought in Fabrice Condominas to serve as the project’s executive producer. Previously, Condominas spent time at EA and Bioware, working on games like Dragon Age: Inquisition and Mass Effect 3. That experience with the RPG genre should help get the project headed in the right direction. However, it’s important to note that this change in direction will require the project to be delayed.
Merrill explained, “Resetting our development path also means we will be “going dark” for a long time—likely several years. This silence will help provide space for the team to focus on the incredible amount of work ahead of them. We understand the excitement and anticipation that surrounds new information, but we ask for your trust during this silent phase.”
That’s likely not the news many fans were hoping for, but it’s ultimately the right direction for the developer. Especially in today’s market, launching a new MMO is tough, even for a developer like Riot. Taking the time needed to make a gameplay experience that’s unique from everything out there is going to take time, and being this upfront with the community is the right call. Don’t expect to hear much from the team in the short term. As Merrill says, “No news is good news” under these circumstances.
