A gamer playing 'League Of Legends' in Isle of Wight, Virginia. The game’s visual aesthetic, including characters, the user interface and battle arenas, will be re-imagined so LOL can appeal to more new players. — TNS
Riot Games is working on a major overhaul of its flagship game League Of Legends, a title played by more than 100 million people every month.
The upcoming version, internally called League Next, is slated to be the biggest update in the title’s history, according to five current and former employees. It is planned for released in 2027.
The game’s visual aesthetic, including characters, the user interface and battle arenas, will be re-imagined so League Of Legends can appeal to more new players. Developers are also reworking the technical underpinnings so it’s easier to push out updates. Riot recently added new keyboard controls that may prove easier for newbies.
Internally, a re-organisation of employees has also been announced, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the information hadn’t been made public.
After Bloomberg reported Thursday on the company’s plans, Riot posted a video confirming that a big update is in the works. It referenced changes to the video game launcher and gameplay. "We're overhauling the new player experience, so that once we're done, it should be the best time ever to get your friends into League," said League Of Legends executive producer Paul Bellezza.
Released in 2009, League Of Legends remains one of the top video-game titles in the world. In the game, five-person teams of fantastical characters, called Champions, fight to win over objectives, such as destroying enemy towers and neutralising monsters. The game has also spawned international esports competitions.
League Of Legends is free to play. Riot, owned by Chinese technology giant Tencent Holdings Ltd, earns money selling digital accessories.
While League Of Legends has fared better than some competitors in the slow-growing video-game business, its player base has dropped off, according to the people Bloomberg News spoke with. Valorant, another Riot title, makes more money.
In years past, Riot has tried to diversify its business, investing in new titles and even a US$250mil (RM1.02bil) Netflix Inc TV series called Arcane that was set in the League Of Legends universe. The company cut 530 jobs last year and pulled back on some projects. Chief executive officer Dylan Jadeja said in a blog post at the time that Riot had too many things underway and needed a sharper focus. – Bloomberg
