Project L: Is Riot moving into the next genre?

Project L can really heat up the fighting game genre. Source: Riot Games

Riot Games is always right on target with its own projects. Regardless of the game or production – in the case of the new animated series Arcane on Netflix – Posted, quality and feedback from the community are incredibly good. For years, Riot Games has dominated the relatively small MOBA genre with League of Legends best dog. For a few years now, more and more titles have been added that provide at least one large exclamation point in their respective regions.

Regardless of whether we are talking about the highly competitive FPS game VALORANT, whose first major world championship (VALORANT Champions 2021) will take place in December 2021, or the most famous and popular car battle title of all time – Teamfight Tactics. The sixth group started there a short time ago and has been well received by players, but it is also attracting more viewers across streaming platforms than ever before. There’s also the Legends of Runeterra deck building card game, the Wild Rift mobile variant of League of Legends, and last but not least, other titles from third-party developers published via Riot Forge.

The quality of this extensive wallet is now so good that Riot Games now has a huge leap of confidence among as many players as it once did with Blizzard. Here we are, of course, talking about Warcraft III Reforged and Diablo Immortal and Co.

Project L – Fighting Game: The Next Big Success Project?

Of course, Riot Games also wants to take advantage of this leap of confidence and continue to deliver new, high-quality games. The next big game that Riot Games will likely reveal is Fighting Game, which is still known under the code name “Project L”. There is also an undefined RPG (Project F) in the pipeline. While we’re still eagerly awaiting the news out there, there is actually something to report about Project L.

Riot Games’ 2019 Fighting Games plans were first revealed as part of League of Legends’ 10th anniversary. Six new projects were introduced there, some of which have now appeared. The two just mentioned are still tall. The following news regarding Project L comes from Tom Cannon, the game’s senior director and executive producer. He leads the development with his brother Tony. The two are also the founders of the EVO Championship Series and netcode backtracking program GGPO.

Project L, which hasn’t got a “real” name yet, is a 2D fighting game in Runeterra from the League of Legends universe. There, too, we’ll meet (and control) several characters we already know from MOBA, TFT, or Arcane, among others. Katharina, Jenks, Dariush and Ahri have already been shown. The new trailer also features Ekko, who will be introduced in new gameplay along with the aforementioned.

Evolution – not as much as you might expect?

A lot has happened since the short teaser in 2019. The game is currently still in the research and development phase, testing the options and adding to the fun. It has already reached a point where this work is paying off and the participants have been very excited about the result so far. With the Undercity Nights celebrated at Riot Games in mind, it’s time to update the waiting community.

Cannon explains that the section that appears during the festivities is still called a “vertical slide”, a “vertical section” that is supposed to show what the game should look like in the end. But it is far from finished. These clips and scenes are produced long before all content development, such as characters or additional stages, is completed.

Riot Games has a lot of work to do in the development of Project L so the game won’t release in 2021 or 2022, the decision makers told us. This might sound disappointing to waiting fans, but it’s very likely to be more than rewarding in the end. The goal is to create a fighting game in which the FGC (Fighting Games Community) can invest a lot and play for years or even decades. This is exactly why they don’t want to rush into anything in terms of publishing. “It’s done when you’re done” is a mantra we’ve come to know in the past from a developer studio that was once highly valued.

tag team and other basic elements

Project L News is not only referring to the framework and organization around Riot Games Fighting Game. The developers are also talking about the core features and other content. Accordingly, Project L will build on the tag team style and allow you to switch between two heroes “on the go” in order to maximize your tactical possibilities and to be able to live your own style of play.

A well known concept regarding control system is adopted. The slogan “Easy to Learn, Hard to Master” has been used again. The controls can also be found in Project L’s new video, which is listed below. As in VALORANT in terms of first person shooter, Riot Games wants to provide the best network code that can be found in a fighting game. Rollback should serve as a basis for this, but it should be complemented by systems like RiotDirect to reduce ping, among other things. RiotDirect is already used in VALORANT and League of Legends.

When can we play?

All of this looks very promising and could herald a new era of fighting games. But when we finally get our hands on Project L, it’s not quite clear yet. Riot Games is almost done with core features, but a lot of other content is still missing. Although the core game, controls, and art design are almost complete, a full set of heroes, stages, menus, UI, rating features, and more are still missing. We are currently looking for new employees to strengthen the team and help them handle all these tasks.

All this gives little hope of continuing consideration of the initially excluded time window (2021-2022). In the second half of 2022, they want to once again inform the community of an update. We are excited to see how Project L will continue.

If Riot Games can build on the quality of the previous version in its own portfolio, then a next-level fighting game awaits. Even if not until 2023.

Project L – RiotX Arcane: Conclusion | The right institution

The new developer video, including new gameplay, controls, character design, mechanics, and more, shows you that Project L is on the right footing:

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