In a massive 10th anniversary celebration for the popular online game, League of Legends, Riot Games announced an absolutely staggering amount of updates, project developments, new games, and even an animated series…? The multi-hour event was a whirlwind for everyone involved, including us, so we were sure to take some notes. If you missed the event, or just didn’t get the chance to absorb all of the mind-blowing awesomeness, here’s a full rundown of what Riot announced during League of Legends’ 10th birthday. With embedded videos for your viewing pleasure!

League of Legends Updates for PC

Before we get into the half-a-dozen new games Riot announced, we’re going to talk about what changes we’ll be seeing in the already-existing League of Legends game. For those of you who play League of Legends on PC: you’re about to experience a handful of changes within the game itself, as well as some fun bonuses to celebrate the game’s 10th anniversary. 

Daily Gifts, Social Impact Fund & URF

The first change that players have already been enjoying is the addition of Daily Gifts. These are daily presents that you get for logging into the game, as well as the inclusion of discounts on popular skins. Each day, you have a chance to unlock discounts for skins on your favorite characters, ranging from low-value to Legendary. This is a huge incentive for players who like to upgrade their champions’ skins often, as well as those holding out for the perfect sale. We’re unsure exactly how long these gifts and sales will last, so be sure to enjoy them while you can! 

This year, Riot will also be using all proceeds from sales of the Dawnbringer Karma skin to their Social Impact Fund – a fund they created earlier this year to ensure that all proceeds would be allocated to charities in their area of focus. In less than a year, Riot Games has already donated over $4 million through the Social Impact Fund on behalf of players and gamers worldwide. 

Another change coming to League of Legends this year is the return of the URF (Ultra Rapid Fire) game mode. Typically, this fan-favorite feature is only available for a few days per year, but Riot claims they’re bringing it back with full champion select, meaning players can choose their preferred champion instead of suffering with randomized picks (All Random Ultra Rapid Fire). Although there’s no 100% guarantee that URF is back for good, players are excited to see the return of one of their favorite modes.

New Champion: Senna & Rise of the Elements

As for actual changes to the League of Legends game: Riot has announced a new champion, named Senna, who will be joining the roster as the first-ever Support Marksman. She is the first champion with this type of playstyle, allowing her to aid other champions while relying on skill-shots and micromanagement. And of course, Riot announced her with a stunning cinematic trailer. 

Riot also announced changes within the game mechanics, introducing new emerging gameplay opportunities on the map. This update is called Rise of the Elements, and will feature changes in the way Elemental Drakes (enemy dragons) interact with the map depending on which Drakes are slain over the course of the game. For example, if an Ocean Drake is slain, more plants may grow for coverage, and if an Inferno Drake is slain, holes may burn in the walls to allow new passageways across the map. This update makes each game unique to how the Drakes are slain, and may help teams form new strategies around them.

Teamfight Tactics Updates for PC

As for League of Legends’ most-recent permanent game mode, Teamfight Tactics will see an update in tandem with League’s Rise of the Elements. This update is considered a complete refresh, with a new set of champions, items, synergies, and abilities. The game will also be adding Desert, Inferno, and Poison origins that unlock special buffs while building teams around champions of those types. We will also see the addition of two new classes, Summoners and Mystics, opening up opportunities for more champions. These updates will force players to learn and master new synergies, keeping the game interesting as it continually evolves over time. Riot is planning to release new seasonal sets like this every few months! 

Teamfight Tactics for Mobile

It’s no surprise that League of Legends, or at least some game modes, will be seeing mobile equivalents in the near future – at least if Teamfight Tactics didn’t already look like a mobile game to you. Riot announced that Teamfight Tactics will be getting its own mobile application, which will act identically to the game played on PC. This also means that Teamfight Tactics will be cross-platform, allowing mobile and PC gamers to battle it out without restrictions.

Pre-register for 2020 beta testing online!

Wild Rift : League of Legends for Mobile and Console

As for the League of Legends mobile game, the concept will be quite different. The League of Legends’ game mechanics are too complicated to convert into a simple mobile game, so Riot will be releasing a separate project called Wild Rift. This game will have the same concept as League of Legends for PC, but will be completely redesigned to work on both mobile and console. The matches will be shorter (roughly 15-20 minutes), and there will be a smaller selection of champions and their cosmetics. We may also see additions of new features or game modes not offered on PC. And obviously, there won’t be any cross-play with PC players, as they are essentially two different games. 

Limited alpha and beta testing will begin in 2020!

Legends of Runeterra : Online League of Legends Card Game

Legends of Runeterra is Riot’s latest surprise game, and was seemingly released without a proper announcement. While the game is currently available for pre-register, some players were lucky enough to win the beta lottery and get access to the game before we even knew it existed. Legends of Runeterra is an online trading card game based in the League of Legends’ universe, Runeterra. The game features champions and skills from within the game, making it an instant favorite for League of Legends players. This game is basically Riot’s response to Magic: the Gathering Arena and the ever-popular Hearthstone. Legends of Runeterra has already gained some buzz since the beta version was made available to some lucky players, especially for it’s anti-microtransaction motiff. In Riot’s card game, you won’t have to pay for randomized packs, and will be able to purchase individual cards for either real money or in-game currency. This makes it much more accessible than other online trading card games, allowing players to choose exactly how their spend their money.

While the game is currently in limited beta, you can pre-register for access to the game now! 

League of Legends Esports Manager

For those who enjoy games like Football Manager and other fantasy sports games, League of Legends Esports Manager will be a dream come true. In this game, players will be able to create and manage their own professional League of Legends team, using their favorite players from the real-life pro league. Esports Manager will offer two separate game modes: one where you can experience an esports story through the eyes of a single character, and another where you can compete against friends and other players through ranked play. According to Riot’s press release: LoL Esports Manager will provide players with the full experience of what it takes to run an esports team through major decisions that include: strategy selection, pre-match bans and picks, and winning the off-season by building the best team possible. The most interesting part about this game is that real-life players in the League of Legends Pro League will benefit from how their characters perform in the game. A portion of the proceeds will go to the players directly, so you know that you’re supporting your favorite pros IRL.

League of Legends Esports Manager is expected to launch in 2020!

Project A : League of Legends Multiplayer FPS

Project A will be Riot’s first-ever breakthrough into the world of first person shooters (FPS). This announcement is probably what surprised us the most, but after the fifth mind-blow moment of the day, we probably wouldn’t have been surprised by much. Currently-titled Project A, Riot’s game will be a character-based tactical multiplayer FPS, meaning that each champion played will have their own set of special traits and abilities. Similar to Overwatch – although Riot refuses any claims that Project A looks like Overwatch – Project A will allow players to join teams and fight in elimination matches using a mixture of shooting skills, weapon selection, and character-based skills. Riot boasts that they’re aiming to solve common lag and hacking issues with standard FPS games, and Project A is already a shoe-in to be more physically appealing than traditionally gory games like Call of Duty. Combine those features with the ability to play as your favorite League of Legends champion and we think Riot has a winner on their hands. During the announcement, there were also subtle hints of future endeavours when the creator’s called Project A highly competitive. If we were betting people, we’d have our money on Riot launching a brand new esports league after the release of Project A. 

There’s currently no word on when Project A will be released. 

Project L : League of Legends Fighting Game

After seven major updates and entering three new genres of gaming, you would think Riot would run out of steam, but apparently not. During the 10th anniversary event, Riot also announced that they’ve been creating their very own fighting game. For those of you who remember Street Fighter, Dead or Alive, and Mortal Kombat, Project L will absolutely be on your radar. Project L is expected to be designed as a combo-based fighting game, where League of Legends champions battle using skills and physical abilities, all around the lands of Runeterra. This game will give League of Legends fans a new perspective on their favorite champions as they fight each other at angles they’ve never seen before. From the short preview we were given, Project L appears to be a side-view 3D animated game, similar to Dead or Alive, and is based on the prototype of a game called Rising Thunder. Riot purchased Tom Cannon’s indie studio a few years ago after the prototype for Rising Thunder gained massive popularity. While fans on both sides were kept in the dark for quite some time, we’ve now been given a glimpse at what the combination of these two games could be like. 

Just like Project A, there’s currently no word on when Project L will be released. 

Project F : Open World League of Legends RPG

Perhaps the most mysterious announcement Riot made last week was a hint at their new open world role playing game (RPG). Codenamed Project F, this open world multiplayer RPG will be set in the League of Legends universe, allowing players to explore the possibilities of traversing the world of Runeterra while defeating monsters. While there’s almost no information available on Project F, what we were able to determine is that it will be set in Runeterra, will feature League of Legends champions, and it will be multiplayer. Other than that, we are left with so many questions. Will it be fully open-world? Will it be PVP? Will it be an MMO or limited to party-sizes? Will it be the next World of Warcraft? How much will it cost?! Etc…

And of course, you can probably guess that we have absolutely zero idea of when this will be available.

Arcane : League of Legends Animated Series

And last, but certainly not least, after years of gorgeous cinematic trailers and animated music videos, Riot is finally creating an animated series. Thankfully, unlike Project F, we were given a bit more information on this project. The animated series is called Arcane, and will take place in the League of Legends universe. The main plot will be set between the utopian city of Piltover and the seedy underbelly of Zaun, and will develop the backstories for both new and old League of Legends characters. From the trailer, we were able to gather than the animation style is similar to that of the music video for Rise, which was a fan-favorite in recent years. We also know that Arcane will be developed and produced entirely in-house, which means Riot truly does have their hands full.

While we don’t know exactly when the first episode of Arcane will be released, we do know that Riot plans to air the show beginning in 2020.

If you made it to the end of this article, kudos to you. There’s no wonder why it took Riot multiple hours to announce these exciting new developments! You can watch the quick recap video of Riot Pls here.

About the Author: Alyssa Castle

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