The "League of Legends" makers present five new games and a TV series
To mark its tenth anniversary, "League of Legends" developer Riot is going all out. The one-trick pony is becoming a multi-franchise studio. Five new games, an animated series and two mobile ports were presented in the one-hour livestream.
"League of Legends" was launched ten years ago. Since then, it has become one of the most popular games of all time with over 100 million players worldwide. No wonder, then, that US developer Riot Games has focussed almost exclusively on the further development of its money-printing machine. But that is now over. In the anniversary livestream, the studio presented five completely new games. Not all of them are set in the same universe as "League of Legends". On top of that, Riot is even producing its own animated series.
Something for everyone
Let's start with the fighting game. Since Riot took over the indie studio from Tom Cannon, the co-founder of the fighting game tournament EVO, it was clear in which direction it would go. The short trailer showed a fight scene in the desert between two LoL champions. But that was all. Project L, as the game is provisionally called, does not yet have a release date and the studio is going back into hiding.
Then Riot announced a tactical multiplayer shooter. Working title: Project A. What Executive Producer Anna Donlon said about the game sounded a lot like "Rainbow Six Siege". However, the short gameplay scenes reminded me more of "Overwatch" vs "Counter-Strike GO". There will also be different characters with unique abilities. Project A has nothing to do with "League of Legends", but is set on Earth in the near future. Release date still unknown.
The "League of Legends Esports Manager" is something completely different. As the name suggests, it is a manager game in the style of a "football manager". Except that instead of football teams, you have to manage League of Legends e-sports teams. The game features real e-sports teams with real professionals from the League Pro League and will later be expanded to other leagues. Riot promises that part of the profits will flow back to the players who will be featured in "Esports Manager". This in turn should boost the growth of e-sports. The "Esports Manager" will be released sometime in 2020.
And because it's good form these days, "League of Legends" is also getting its own card game. It is called "Legends of Runeterra" and is intended to be even more accessible than "Hearthstone". The special thing about it is that there will be no booster packs. Instead, you buy the cards you want for real money or with the in-game currency you earn by playing. The game is due to be released next year. You can pre-register for the Android and PC versions.
The fifth and final game on the list is called Project F. In it, you will be able to explore the world of Runeterra, the playing field of "League of Legends", with up to three friends. The short snippet of the game is reminiscent of action RPGs such as "Diablo".
Cartoon series and mobile versions of LoL and TFT
Riot is not only expanding its game portfolio, but is also putting out feelers into new media. "Arcane" is a mini animated series that will be about some of the well-known LoL heroes. The series will be produced entirely in-house. The trailer is typically Riot bombastic. "Arcane" is scheduled for 2020.
Last but not least, you can now register for the mobile versions of "League of Legends Wild Rift" and "Teamfight Tactics". The latter will be more or less identical to the PC version and offer cross-play. "League of Legends Wild Rift", on the other hand, is a dedicated version for mobile and consoles and should offer significantly shorter matches.
Being the game and gadget geek that I am, working at digitec and Galaxus makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop – but it does take its toll on my wallet. I enjoy tinkering with my PC in Tim Taylor fashion and talking about games on my podcast http://www.onemorelevel.ch. To satisfy my need for speed, I get on my full suspension mountain bike and set out to find some nice trails. My thirst for culture is quenched by deep conversations over a couple of cold ones at the mostly frustrating games of FC Winterthur.