The world of League of Legends is filled with interesting characters, all with their own backstories that tie into the overarching lore. This makes it the perfect setting for an MMORPG.
Fortunately, back in December of 2020, one of the developers at Riot confirmed that the company was working on an MMO set in the League of Legends universe. Earlier last year, Riot rekindled the hype by confirming the news on its official website; on one of the site’s recruitment pages is the text, “We’re Making an MMO.” This is excellent news, as Riot’s immersive world would shine in an MMORPG.
Utilizing Runeterra’s Lore
Runeterra is the universe that houses the lore of League of Legends, from its long history to its huge roster of champions. There’s also an ever-growing web of character relationships, which fans experienced firsthand while watching Arcane. That’s just from some of the characters in Piltover and Zaun, too, as Runeterra has many other settlements with their own cultures and traditions.
This expansive lore gives the developers plenty to work with when building the MMO. The game could have players travel across regions and meet familiar characters from League of Legends, all while doing quests for them. This would help immerse the player in Runeterra, making them feel like a part of the magical world.
But while Runeterra’s lore lends structure to the MMO’s potential narrative, it also has much to contribute in terms of player freedom - particularly in terms of class selection. League of Legends already has characters of different classes such as assassins, mages, and marksmen. These can carry over to the MMO, allowing players to choose their playstyle and customize their skillset.
There are plenty of things in Runeterra’s lore that Riot could use to shape its ambitious League of Legends MMO. This could influence the developer when it is recreating the streets of Noxus, planning the overarching questlines, or creating the game’s potential raid bosses(fans theorize that Baron Nashor will be one of them). It would just be a matter of putting it all together, which is, of course, easier said than done.
Though Riot already has plenty of other games set in the world of Runeterra, an MMO will surely take it to new heights. While League of Legends, Legends of Runeterra, and the upcoming Project L fighting game give players snippets of lore, an MMORPG could be much more immersive. It can plunge players into a magical world so that they can get to know characters they’ve only heard singular voice lines from. It is this potential that is precisely why fans are excited about the game.
That said, fans will need to be patient when waiting for this MMO, as it seems to be in the earlier stages of development. Riot’s recruitment efforts are evidence of this. Moreover, Riot has not yet released a statement on the game’s potential release date, so it might be a few years before League of Legends fans can get their hands on it. Considering the sheer size of MMORPG games, the community might see the release of Arcane Season 2 long before the League of Legends MMO.
Regardless of when Riot plans to release its new games, one thing’s for sure: fans are hyped. With the eSports giant branching out to other genres and even different art mediums, there’s no telling what else the company will have in store for its community.
The League of Legends MMO is currently in development.
