Again in 2020, it was revealed on Twitter that Riot Video games was engaged on an MMO set in League of Legends’ Runeterra universe.
5 years later, and no particulars, not even a screenshot, have been launched.
That’s why it’s at all times an enormous second when anyone from the corporate acknowledges that the formidable challenge nonetheless exists. This time, it was the flip of Riot Video games co-founder, Marc Merrill.
The MMO was talked about very briefly by Merrill throughout a speech on the D.I.C.E Summit final month.
Whereas no new particulars have been introduced, League of Legends’ lore skilled and content material creator Necrit was capable of contextualise the 30-minute speech to display how Riot is now approaching future initiatives. Particularly after closing down its Riot Forge department.
Forge noticed Riot method profitable indie recreation builders and tasked them with creating new video games utilizing LoL’s characters and tales.
And what Merrill surprisingly revealed was that, fairly than making these video games to provide again to the LoL neighborhood, as Arcane did, the precise aim was to make use of these video games to draw new gamers to LoL.
That isn’t what occurred. As Nercrit factors out, there was no purpose for gamers who know nothing about LoL to be enthusiastic about enjoying by one of many recreation’s tales.
Apparently, Riot knew this was a difficulty, however the measurement of the corporate meant it was too sluggish to make any changes.
Merrill claims that Riot Video games employed too many individuals and that lack of focus was what led to the mass layoffs final 12 months:
“We have been basically positioning the corporate as Disneyland. How wonderful it’s to work there, how nice it’s for them. Moderately than how laborious it’s , and the way essential it’s, that we always try to make issues higher for our viewers.
“We overpassed how a lot effort, and the way a lot deliberate effort, it takes to maintain the corporate targeted on gamers. Which led to decrease efficiency after which, in the end, Riot’s first large spherical of layoffs ever again in 2024.”
Now, Merrill needs Riot to refocus on making video games that serve the neighborhood and are made by folks from that neighborhood.
He believes Riot are “discovering methods so as to add worth to the (combating recreation neighborhood) and even maybe to the MMO neighborhood.”
The latter is an particularly tough activity contemplating what number of video games have tried and did not dethrone World of Warcraft.
Nevertheless, Merrill instructed Recreation File’s Stephen Totilo that these formidable challenges are precisely what an organization like Riot is about as much as tackle.
However Merrill insists that they’ll additionally look to serve the LoL neighborhood, saying: “With the League IP, we’ve been investing a lot for therefore lengthy, over time, type of rising this world and including dimensions. Individuals need to run all over the world of Runeterra. And so we need to assist them do this, in methods which can be value it and significant to them.”
On the finish of Merrill’s speech, he pressured Riot needs: “to earn the chance to serve (the League of Legends) neighborhood for a very long time to return.”
It could be a really very long time if followers decide to ready for the MMO to lastly launch.
In my seven years of esports writing, I’ve introuduced esports protection to newspapers, interviewed among the greatest names within the business, and pushed viewers mad with the puns in my YouTube scripts. I’m most happy with the latter.
