Riot Games claims they canceled a Super Smash Bros.-style fighting game

Riot Games ha estado trabajando en otro juego de lucha antes de 2XKO, uno al estilo Super Smash Bros, pero por lo visto, fue cancelado hace tiempo.

Riot Games achieved fame, success, and money with League of Legends. But they were never satisfied with that. TFT showed that they were capable of competing in more markets. Valorant showed that they could excel even in those markets that were already saturated. And while it’s true that Legends of Runeterra was a stumble, proving unable to compete with games like Hearthstone or Magic: The Gathering, that doesn’t mean they don’t know how to navigate between genres. And it doesn’t mean they haven’t learned to be cautious over time.

According to what we’ve learned through the reporter Mikhail Klimentov, there was a moment when Riot Games was working on a platform fighting game in the style of Super Smash Bros. A prototype was created, and they had assigned between 70 and 80 developers for the project. This means that it was at a very advanced stage of the project. And we speak in past-tense because, unfortunately, the game was canceled.

The reason for this title’s cancellation was none other than the success of MultiVersus. Seeing the success that the Warner Bros. game was having, Riot executives were not convinced that there was as much appetite among players for another alternative to the popular Nintendo franchise. That’s why they decided to close the project, even in such an advanced state, considering Riot Games is always working on several games at once. It doesn’t represent a serious loss for the studio.

Fortunately, this did not result in a round of layoffs. Half the team was offered reassignment within the studio, while the other half was considered for internal roles. This is not usually the case when a video game is canceled.

This means that, as far as we know, the only fighting game being developed by Riot Games is 2XKO. A 2v2 team fighting game that’ll be coming soon to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC, though we still don’t have a release date. We assume it should arrive at some point in 2025.

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This is the ultimate version of the Super Smash Bros. series. It is the first game released for Nintendo Switch.

Riot Games announces that this 2024 is going to be terrible for the company

Today’s decision is critical for Riot’s future. It’s not about appeasing shareholders or reaching a figure; it’s a necessity for survival.

Riot Games, known for developing the popular video game League of Legends, has announced the dismissal of 530 employees: approximately 11% of its global workforce. This 2024 seems difficult for any sector.

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In a statement addressed to the players on their website, Dylan Jadeja, CEO of Riot, wrote: “For most of our history, we have managed to avoid days like this, but today’s decision is critical for the future of Riot. It’s not about appeasing shareholders or reaching quarterly profit figures: it’s a necessity“.

The CEO went into more specific details about the business circumstances that led to today’s layoffs in an email to Riot employees, also shared on the studio’s website.

Too many projects at once, few benefits?

“Since 2019, we have made a series of big bets throughout the company with the goal of being better for players. We dove headfirst into creating new experiences and expanding our portfolio, and we grew rapidly as we became a multi-game, multi-experience company: we expanded our global footprint, changed our operating model, brought in new talent to match our ambitions, and ultimately doubled the size of Riot in a few years,” the letter begins.

“Currently, we are a company without a sufficiently defined focus,” he continued, “and simply put, we have too many things going on. Some of the important investments we have made are not yielding the results we expected. Our costs have grown to an unsustainable point and we have run out of margin to experiment or fail, something vital for a creative company like ours. All of this jeopardizes the core of our business.”

Riot says that these “changes” will mean that around 530 employees will lose their jobs worldwide, “with the biggest impact [being] on teams outside of core development.”

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The company will also close RiotForge: the initiative that has allowed them to work with smaller independent studios to develop a series of highly acclaimed titles based on their intellectual property, such as Ruined King, Song of Nunu, and the upcoming Bandle Tale. And they will reduce the size of their Legends of Runeterra team.

Introducing Song of Nunu: Riot’s Fresh Game Set in League of Legends Universe, Crafted in Spain

Song of Nunu, the upcoming single player game set in the world of LOL, is being developed by a Spanish studio, and it looks great.

Riot Games is famous for League of Legends. Even if they have more games and a series, everything ends up being subordinated to League of Legends; LOL devours everything. And that’s normal. It’s a very powerful IP, and it’s logical that while their other multiplayer games are popular, they’ll never be as important as a game considered foundational, for the mainstream, for what MOBAs should be. However, in recent times, they have used the IP to also approach games as single-player experiences. With good results.

This is because Riot Games has established the Riot Forge initiative. Thanks to this, they are collaborating with different studios to create games within their world’s license. And the next one is coming from a Spanish studio.

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Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story is a game developed by Tequila Works, the creators of games like Rime, The Sexy Brutale, and Deadlight. In this game, players will embody Nunu, a quite ordinary child with a rather unique relationship: his best friend is Willump, a yeti who assists him in any way he can. In League of Legends, Nunu is a champion known not for his combat abilities, but as a supportive character who aids his teammates in gaining tactical advantages wherever possible.

So, what can we expect from this game? Well, from the first trailer of the game, it becomes clear that it promises a satisfying single-player experience.

In Song of Nunu, we’ll explore the beautiful lands of Freljord, a place as dangerous as it is filled with fascinating mysteries. The game offers an adventure full of puzzles and platforming, in the style of Tequila Works’ previous games, with occasional flashes of action here and there. In addition to drawing from League of Legends lore to introduce players to familiar situations, objects, and characters from the world of the world’s most famous MOBA, such as Braum, the mustached gentle giant who fights with a door.

This is why we’ll have a more traditional first-person adventure, focused on platforming, where action takes a back seat. It’s more centered on getting to know and develop the characters and their world. The game’s release is set for the upcoming autumn, and we’re eagerly looking forward to learning more about the lands of Freljord and all its inhabitants.

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