A developer from Riot Games has shared special information about the development of Teamfight Tactics in streams and videos, but that is ending now.
Who is it about? Stephen “Mortdog” Mortimer is a developer at Riot Games. He is responsible as a Gameplay Director for the “League of Legends” spin-off “Teamfight Tactics,” which was released for mobile devices in 2019. Previously, he worked at Nintendo for over 11 years, overseeing the design of games like Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars.
Outside his role as Gameplay Director of TFT, Mortdog was also known as a kind of content creator for the game. In livestreams and videos, the developer spoke about various aspects of the game and provided deep insights into the decisions made by the development team – especially regarding balancing changes.
Within much of the TFT community, Mortdog is highly regarded for his transparent communication, his openness, and the information he has shared. However, some TFT players behaved so poorly on social media that the developer is now temporarily stepping back from streaming.
The haters have won
Why is Mortdog stepping back? On April 28, Mortdog released an hour-long video on YouTube, where he talked about the balancing of Teamfight Tactics. At the end of the video, the developer stated that streams and other bonus insights he had provided to the community would now come to a halt.
Mortdog says:
“I’m stepping back from the extra stuff for a while. The last weeks and months have been really tough, as I’ve been in the spotlight and the target of a lot of frustrations surrounding TFT. You only have to click one of my recent Twitter posts and read the responses… I’ve taken a lot recently, to the point where I’m pretty burned out.”
The developer further explains that the constant complaints and hatred from many players have really affected him lately. This has negatively impacted his communication because he has become more susceptible to responding to snarky comments in a snarky way himself.
Now he wants to take a break from the additional content he has created and offered voluntarily, without any obligation from Riot Games. He summarizes:
I don’t know how to put it other than to say ‘the haters win.’ They have really affected me, which I reluctantly admit after six years. But I will take a break because I can’t handle it much longer. It affects me a lot. So no more X posts from me for a while […], no more patch rundowns. They were always an optional thing, they weren’t something sponsored by Riot, I don’t have to do them, so I won’t for a while. I probably won’t stream at all for a while.
However, he did not specify how long Mortdog would refrain from offering this additional content. It certainly sounds like it’s initially “just” a break and could return in the future. Nevertheless, fans must now say goodbye to the special insights of the developer for the time being.
After Mortdog’s announcement to take a break from creating additional content, there was again a lot of criticism – but this time for the community that pushed him to this step. Many players emphasize that TFT with Mortdog and his transparent communication really has something special, and anyone who vented their frustration on him should feel bad. This has harmed the entire community.
Mortdog has been sharing really interesting insights about the game for years. He once told us in an interview how the game was almost at its end in 2020. You can read the full interview on MeinMMO: The chief reveals: In 2020, TFT was on the brink of death, but today it runs better than ever
