League of Legends developer Riot Games is working on an MMO

[Polycount]

Something to look forward to: It takes a lot for an MMO to launch and thrive, which is why there are still comparatively few of them compared to other genres of video games. However, League of Legends developer Riot seems to feel it has what it takes to join the ranks of giants like World of Warcraft and Guild Wars 2 -- Riot VP Greg Street announced on Twitter that the studio is working on an MMO.

This will be a first for Riot: while League of Legends is a game with a huge playerbase, it's still a MOBA at the end of the day. Even the biggest, most ambitious MOBAs pale in comparison to the smallest and most conservative MMOs, which typically have at least a few hundred players per server, if not thousands.

It will be a massive undertaking, but fortunately, Riot's hefty coffers should allow it to hire on the appropriate talent to turn whatever vision it has for an MMO into a reality. Unfortunately for us gamers and bystanders, it's likely going to be a long while before we hear any concrete information about this project.

I have news!

My recent job at Riot has been to help develop the League universe, which we’re going to need!

Because it is time. My new job is to kick off a big (some might say massive) game that many of you, and many Rioters, have been asking us to create.

PS We’re hiring

— Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) December 18, 2020

As you can see in the embedded tweet above, Street hasn't exactly gone into detail regarding Riot's MMO. Instead, he merely confirmed its existence (in response to a question from Twitter user Richelle), and that he is just now "[kicking] off" the project. In other words, development is in the early stages, and developers are still being recruited.

Nonetheless, a League of Legends MMO has the potential to be pretty exciting. The Runeterra universe is full of rich lore and interesting characters, built up over many years. Giving players the chance to take a deeper dive into that world sounds like a recipe for success, so let's hope things turn out well.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/88032-league-legends-developer-riot-games-working-mmo.html

 

[Hexic]

Best guess:

They’re going to go from ripping off of Blizzard’s Warcraft DoTA game > LoL, to ripping off of Blizzard’s MMO, WoW - like everyone else has tried and failed to do.

I haven’t seen an original idea come out of Riot since it’s inception, other than copying Blizz’s IP.

 

[Nobina]

Best guess:

They’re going to go from ripping off of Blizzard’s Warcraft DoTA game > LoL, to ripping off of Blizzard’s MMO, WoW - like everyone else has tried and failed to do.

I haven’t seen an original idea come out of Riot since it’s inception, other than copying Blizz’s IP.

You forgot to mention Valorant which is a Counter-Strike and Overwatch hybrid.

 

[Hexic]

You forgot to mention Valorant which is a Counter-Strike and Overwatch hybrid.

Ah, good catch. Their attempt at a shooter clone. Completes the MOBA/shooter/MMO trifecta though.

 

[veLa]

I wish them the best of luck.

 

[terzaerian]

Considering the rise of MOBAs virtually eradicated character creator games from all but the most dedicated IPs and RPGs, I am a little bitter at Riot. However, that is nothing compared to my antipathy towards Blizzard for their cowardice and embrace of political censorship, so I hope Riot trounces them.

 

[Nobina]

Considering the rise of MOBAs virtually eradicated character creator games from all but the most dedicated IPs and RPGs, I am a little bitter at Riot. However, that is nothing compared to my antipathy towards Blizzard for their cowardice and embrace of political censorship, so I hope Riot trounces them.

Riot is one of the worst offenders when it comes to political censorship.

 

[Ravey]

I've always prefered the cinematic clips that RIOT have released over the years to advertise LoL. Honestly I feel that they would do much better making a LoL animated series to help expand the lore rather than an MMO.

That said, If the game can show off some new gameplay mechanics that are completey different to what is on offer right now then it might be worth a look.