Riot MMO Executive Producer Drops New Hints About What To Expect From The Game

Aside from the fact that the game will take place in Runeterra (the world of League of Legends and Arcane) – we don’t really know much about Riot Games’ upcoming MMO. Luckily, Greg Street (AKA “Ghostcrawler”) changed that for the better this week on Twitter by answering a couple of fan questions about what to expect.

Group Content and Experiences Will Be A Focus

This will be vague, but our philosophy is if you want to play a single player game, there are great ones out there. Horizon! GoW! Persona! Shout out to Pathfinder WotR! If you want to play a game with a community, with friends, then play our MMO.

— Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) January 16, 2022

The former Blizzard and World of Warcraft executive, now helming Riot’s upcoming MMO project, gave us Icecrown fucking Citadel. If he says we’re gonna love the group content in this game, I believe him.

Specific Vision While Playing To What MMO Fans Crave

“Everything is an analogy” according to Ghostcrawler. So when he was asked if they are approaching development with a very consistent, rigid focus or playing to what fans are currently looking to experience in MMOs, here’s what we got.

So closer to the former, but it’s not like a painting where we don’t really care if anyone likes our art or not. We want a vibrant community to love our art, and we’ll make changes to get them to love it more. But we won’t try to appeal to everyone. That doesn’t lead to great art

— Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) January 16, 2022

I think I’m understanding this one as – hey, we think we know what you like. This is an MMO game for MMO fans, but if you love this universe, there will be something to pull you in and get you acquainted with the mechanics later. Am I warm, Greg? Please help me out here.

Sprucing Up ‘Dated’ MMO Combat

Not quite ready to share this kind of detail. We think combat is a space where the genre feels a little dated (and humbly I think Riot is pretty good at combat) but explaining our design and intentions will take a lot more space than a tweet

— Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) January 13, 2022

I wholeheartedly agree here in that MMO combat absolutely feels dated. That being said, combat in League and Wild Rift aren’t exactly what I’d imagine as ideal for an MMO type game, but I am more than happy to be proven wrong.

There’s Lots of Lore To Go Around

Runeterra is a pretty well developed world. Check on out LotR and Arcane in particular.

As for RTS, it’s something we debate a lot. I for one think the right game could lead to an RTS resurgence, but alas I already have a gig. (Tip: make your RTS team based and not 1v1)

— Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) January 14, 2022

This last one’s way more of a no-brainer, but Greg’s telling us what fans of Riot’s worldbuilding thus far already have known for years… Runeterra is absolutely dripping with lore, and the world feels incredibly lived in and dynamic. I personally don’t know much about Runeterra’s lore (though I am soaking up all I can and learning a ton), and I can’t wait to learn more once the MMO releases.

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So, there you have it. The specifics on Riot’s MMO are very few and even farther between, but hey, we know more than we did yesterday. I’ll absolutely take what I can get from one of the men responsible for bringing us classic MMO experiences such as World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, and my hopes for Riot’s upcoming MMO are very, very high. I can’t wait to learn more – so Greg, if you’ve got some time, feel free to come on the internet’s #1 gaming podcast and tell us more. Door’s always open.