Our author Benedict got really excited about the new games from Blizzard at BlizzCon 2019. However, impressive things are also brewing at the competition: at “League of Legends” developer Riot.
Blizzard has always been my favorite game developer, where I first got into it with Lost Vikings back on the SNES, but I have really revered it since Warcraft 3. I have been playing titles from this gaming giant for over 15 years and have enjoyed almost every (PC) game the company has released since – except Starcraft 2 – for many hours.
To me, Blizzard has always represented innovation, fan service, and was a name I could rely on for good new games. Through BlizzCon 2019, Blizzard has shown me again, after many shitstorms, that there are grand ideas behind the company.
Almost at the same time, however, Riot, the developer of League of Legends, has transformed into a company that is gaining more and more attention. I see a lot of what has made Blizzard so successful all along – and I hope for its success for several reasons.
I’m really looking forward to these Blizzard games
This will be the highlight: At BlizzCon 2019, Blizzard presented several innovations, most of which were already known through leaks beforehand. Nevertheless, one game has particularly excited me.
Diablo 4 is the title I’m looking forward to the most after BlizzCon. Diablo 4 will finally be really dark again and promises interesting gameplay that breaks the stagnant routine of Diablo 3.
Through its open world, Diablo 4 will feel more like an MMO than a classic ARPG. A feature that I’m looking forward to as an MMORPG fan. I’m curious to see how that develops, as it will still take a while until release.
What I’m looking forward to: Overwatch 2 looks like a game where I will sink many hours.
Having already spent a lot of time in the first part and being able to carry my progress into Overwatch 2, I’m particularly excited about the opportunity to level heroes in Overwatch 2. It works for me that Overwatch and Overwatch 2 seem to merge.
Even if Shadowlands for World of Warcraft sounds interesting – even though I find Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2 more exciting for the time being. At least the approach to orient Shadowlands a bit towards Classic is already a big promise for me.
Blizzard as my king and Riot as its successor
What makes Blizzard the king? Whether Blizzard is now the “best game studio” is a highly subjective assessment, and many fans of Rockstar, Bethesda, or Ubisoft will probably disagree with me.
Nevertheless, Blizzard has had years of success and has a portfolio of games, almost every one of which has become a hit. This is also reflected in the financial status of the company, even though Blizzard experienced difficulties lately.
An report from twinfinite summarizes the revenues of the 10 largest video game publishers in the fiscal year 2018. Activision Blizzard comes in fourth place with $7.2 billion (2017). Only Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony can place ahead of the company, each also being able to offer their own consoles.
Riot as a competitor: Whether Riot has already become a real competitor is not certain at the moment. So far, Riot can only show League of Legends as a game – here, Blizzard has only a foothold with Heroes of the Storm.
However, Riot recently took a jab at Blizzard and referenced the legendary announcement of Diablo Immortal at BlizzCon 2018. That alone shows that Riot is preparing to attack.
Additionally, six new games that Riot has announced are coming. Among these are shooters, card games, and a game that looks like an MMORPG – all genres where Blizzard has firm roots.
The current success of Riot
This is how Riot grows: The story of Riot’s success began with League of Legends, its own adaptation of the popular Warcraft 3 mod Defense of the Ancients (DotA). LoL was released on October 27, 2009 – almost exactly 10 years ago.
After its release, LoL became one of the most successful MOBAs ever and remains strong at the top of the genre, even ahead of Dota 2 (measured by viewers on Twitch).
In 2018 alone, League of Legends generated $1.4 billion (via statista). Since 2015, Riot has belonged to the Chinese company Tencent and has thus gained access to an extremely lucrative market, in which companies like Blizzard are also expanding.
This is how Riot stays relevant: Although LoL was for a long time the only game from Riot, the company has held its ground and is now exploring new avenues. Recently, Riot jumped on the autobattler hype train.
With Teamfight Tactics, the LoL developer not only created its own autobattler but also offers severe competition to Valve’s Dota Underlords and the original and now standalone version of Auto Chess.
Legends of Runeterra is now also in development and is already being played. The new card game is “Riot’s Hearthstone” with a twist – even though card games are not currently the big hype genre.
Already now, LoR is popular among many Hearthstone streamers, even if there are dissenting voices. Competitor Valve has previously attempted to enter the genre but suffered a major failure with its attempt Artifact.
What does Riot do with the success? Riot is leveraging its current success to continue evolving. Riot has already introduced six new games that will be released in the coming years.
What interests me most among them includes:
- Project A, which looks like a tactical shooter combining Overwatch with CS:GO or Rainbow Six
- and Project F, which sounds like an MMORPG or an ARPG in the LoL universe
Both markets currently exhibit a tangible hunger from fans for new content. Frustration over new shooters like Breakpoint shows that players want great new games here, and the success of WoW Classic proves that players want new and, above all, good MMORPGs – even if they are already 15 years old.
The “Blizzard way” to success?
This is how Riot proceeds: Riot does not reinvent the genres. The developers only take already successful concepts and add their own character to them. This was already evident with LoL, which is essentially just its own version of DotA with a different name.
Instead of annoying fans with innovations that nobody asked for, popular systems are taken and polished until a state is reached that delivers a great game.
That’s what made Blizzard great: Blizzard has been following a similar approach over the years. The most successful games from Blizzard are not completely original inventions but improved versions of popular games.
This has long been the company’s recipe for success. Only one game failed to make a big splash: Heroes of the Storm. Even here, a strong fan community has formed.
“Riot vs. Blizzard” – A battle for the top?
Could Riot become the “best game studio”? Riot shows readiness to grow and challenge Blizzard. The methods for growth are the same that made Blizzard great, as highlighted by colleague Maurice Weber from Gamestar:
After over 20 years in the business, Blizzard shows itself through the current developments and the dissatisfaction of many players to be in a position where it can easily be overtaken.
Even though Riot does not yet belong to the “big players” and EA is still significantly larger, Riot could capture part of the disappointed fans that Blizzard leaves behind. If Riot adheres to its successful recipe, it could rise to the top in a few years.
Conclusion: To me, Blizzard is the king of game developers – and it will likely always remain that way in my heart. However, after the company has lost many employees, including some to Riot, I feel that some of the old charm is missing.
Riot is now filling exactly the space that Blizzard has left empty in recent years or at least trying to. Personally, I don’t really care which of the two game studios ultimately occupies the “throne”.
If Riot does indeed develop into the next “Blizzard,” I expect many great games to come from that direction in the future. Should Blizzard see Riot’s success as a cautionary tale to weave its own essence more strongly into its games again, I look forward to fresh air with tested methods.
What do you think about the future of Blizzard and Riot?
