In 2009, Riot Games released the MOBA League of Legends, which became a huge hit. In the meantime, there are more highlights in the LoL universe, including the card game Legends of Runeterra and the series Arcane on Netflix. These bring a whole new depth to the lore and create a lot of hype for our editor Alexander Leitsch, who is looking forward to the upcoming MMORPG.
In December 2020, Riot Games announced an MMORPG for League of Legends. Although there is currently no gameplay or in-depth information about the game, the hype is already huge. Because Riot Games is one of the few companies that players trust to deliver the “next big MMORPG.”
In a survey in the news about the LoL MMORPG, 7,821 readers participated on MeinMMO, and a large part is really excited about the game:
- 73.81%, which translates to over 5,770 readers, stated that their interest in the game is very high.
- Another 1,247 players (15.94%) voted for “high interest”.
- Only 374 people (4.78%) voted with low or very low interest.
The great interest is also due to the fact that Riot Games has put a lot of love into the story, the characters, and the presentation of the game world. This love can be seen well in LoL, but even more so in the card game Legends of Runeterra and the series Arcane.
And this is important to stand out from the generic MMORPGs of recent years.
Note: The article was originally published in August 2021. In November, we revised it because the series Arcane has further increased the anticipation for the LoL MMORPG.
Legends of Runeterra brings the cards to life and that’s great
What makes Legends of Runeterra so good? First of all, Legends of Runeterra is simply a very good card game in terms of gameplay and monetization.
Those who dive into the game world will encounter many familiar LoL champions, but also their friends or followers. Among these are Poros for the followers of Freljord or soldiers who fight alongside champions from Demacia.
There are also special interactions between the various champions, as well as between the champions and their followers. Through these interactions, not only funny puns and jokes are conveyed, but at times also new lore content about the world of Runeterra is told.
The way the cards interact with each other somehow brings them to life, which I find very successful.
A selection of these interactions can be found in this video by SkinSpotlights:
Good presentation beyond the game: If you enjoy the trailers and cinematics for League of Legends, you should also check out the YouTube channel for Legends of Runeterra (via YouTube). Because even outside of the card game, there is a lot of love for the LoL universe.
In funny stories or epic cinematics, new champions and expansions for Legends of Runeterra are announced.
The highlight for me is the official launch trailer for the game. BREATHE has a very special atmosphere, complemented by beautiful animations and an epic soundtrack.
Arcane is one of the best game adaptations ever
What makes the series so good? Arcane is a series on Netflix that focuses on a small part of the world of Runeterra. It specifically addresses the conflict between the two cities of Zaun and Piltover:
- Piltover is the esteemed, wealthy city and has the academy where students from all over the world of Runeterra are sent.
- Zaun is the “Undercity.” Here live the common folk and the criminal underworld. Notable characters like Vi, Jinx, Ekko, Singed, and Ziggs come from this very zone.
The series gives the characters a lot of depth and shows an interesting development especially with Jinx, Jayce, and Vi. This is supported by beautiful graphics, a good sound backdrop, and above all, strong dubbing.
Arcane is also understandable for everyone, even if you have no idea about LoL or Legends of Runeterra. For this reason, it immediately reached number 1 in the Netflix charts in 38 countries upon release.
Attention to detail is important to stand out from generic MMORPGs
Why are my hopes for the LoL MMORPG so high? Riot Games shows with League of Legends, Legends of Runeterra, and now also Arcane, the love for detail with which they work and how important the characters and the lore are to them. And that is exactly what is important to stand out from generic MMORPGs.
The best negative example for me is Elyon, an Asia MMORPG that was released on September 29 in the West. Craft-wise, it is a good game with nice graphics, action-packed battles, cool dungeons, and huge PvP battles. But Elyon will certainly not be a hit, as was already noticed during the beta.
In my review, I wrote among other things that it is too “generic and somehow soulless.” There is hardly any recognition value, either visually or in terms of content. I can hardly remember the characters from the story or special places, even though I only played the beta just under a week ago.
On the other hand, I can think of hundreds of things about League of Legends and Legends of Runeterra, and the world has somehow left an impression on me.
Everyone knows the successful MMORPGs: The most successful MMORPGs in the West have never been surprises that came out of nowhere, but are always associated with a franchise or a name:
- WoW is based on the world of WarCraft
- ESO is based on the Elder Scrolls series
- Final Fantasy XIV is just one part of a very large and well-known game series
- SWTOR uses the Star Wars franchise
- Even Guild Wars 2 benefited from the fact that there was already a first part
People often even have a picture of all these games, even if they have never played them. Outside the MMORPG bubble, however, hardly anyone would know ArcheAge, Elyon, or Bless Unleashed. Their trailers, their characters, their artworks, or their lore are not particularly special or interesting enough to stick with players.
A similar problem was also faced by the game Magic Legends, as hardly anyone could remember the title: Magic: Legends had many ingredients to become the next MMO hit, but one was missing – Now it is dead.
LoL MMORPG should not satisfy every player
What do we know so far about the MMORPG? Not much. Currently, it is only known that it is supposed to take place in the world of Runeterra. Whether it will be a theme park MMO and whether PvP will play a bigger role is still uncertain.
According to Greg “Ghostcrawler” Street, Executive Producer of the LoL MMORPG, the game will need a lot of time to meet the requirements. However, he also said, that players “will not love every feature in it”.
In a tweet, he shared: “We will make some decisions that you may not agree with. Players want different things in their games. That’s a good thing. Some of you might not like the game at all. That’s fine too.”
What do you think about the LoL MMORPG? Do you have high hopes and if so, why?
Generally, the development of Riot Games and League of Legends is very interesting. From a standalone version of the Warcraft mod Defense of the Ancients, the game has now evolved into a huge universe with its own bands and a massive esports scene.
We have compiled more about the development here: LoL should grow from the small map with 3 lanes to a huge universe.
