GamesMMOLeague of LegendsRiot hits the development reset button for its League of Legends MMO: ‘The initial vision just wasn’t different enough from what you can play today’When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

GamesMMOLeague of LegendsRiot hits the development reset button for its League of Legends MMO: ‘The initial vision just wasn’t different enough from what you can play today’When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Riot Games)

Blitzcrank from League of Legends

Riot has “reset” the development of its League of Legends MMO, according to cofounder and CPO Marc Merrill.Posting on Twitter, Merrill confirmed that “yes, we’re still working on the game,” but that the project has been set back to its early stages to pursue a new design direction. The decision was made “some time ago,” based on the studio’s feeling that the in-development MMO, set in the League of Legends’ Runeterra world, was too similar to its competitors. “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.”

Hey all - We know many of you are hungry for news about the @riotgames #MMO project, and we really appreciate your patience and the incredible support you’ve shown us so far. I’m writing to update you today on where we’re at. And before anyone panics: yes, we are still working on…March 20, 2024

Hey all - We know many of you are hungry for news about the @riotgames #MMO project, and we really appreciate your patience and the incredible support you’ve shown us so far. I’m writing to update you today on where we’re at. And before anyone panics: yes, we are still working on…March 20, 2024

(Image credit: Greg Street (via X/Twitter))

An X/Twitter thread from Greg Street aka Ghostcrawler, reading “A few weeks ago I made a tweet where I intended to emphasize what a commitment I had made to this MMO. Some players and media latched onto the “might never ship” part and extrapolated that the development was not going well. Spoiler: It is going great. This team is so stacked. But there is no guarantee any game in this business will ship. Anyone who makes that promise is essentially saying they will ship even if the game is disappointing. We won’t ship a disappointing game. (We also won’t crunch just to make sure the game is as good as it can be.) Do I think Riot will launch an MMO at some point? Absolutely. There are so many good reasons to do it. Maybe I am not the right leader, or this is not the right team, or our design isn’t the right one. But the company will keep at it until the game is worthy of your expectations. Thanks for your support and patience. We got you."

There is, obviously, room for speculation here as to whether Street’s WoW development history might have contributed to a design direction that felt too familiar, considering that WoW is still the most immediate MMO measuring stick that jumps to mind. Street has since launched a new studio with Netease namedFantastic Pixel Castle, currently developing another MMO. Since Merrill’s announcement, Street hasposted a reactionon Twitter to “wish the Riot MMO well. They have a great world to explore and the team is truly top notch. I will definitely play the crap out of it.”

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