LoL 10th anniversary arrives with a splash: new games, updates and shows!

LoL Esports
17/10/2019
Mel Hawthorne

Riot Games has always been a bit of a one-trick-pony. They did one thing, and while they did it well, League of Legends was all they had – this is no longer the case. In celebration of LoL 10th anniversary, Riot revealed a whole stack of news!

For 10 days, starting today, League of League players will receive a gift every day they log in. This is before a new charity skin is released, and for the first time in over 4 years, League will feature URF with full champion select. In addition to that, the League map itself is going to change a little later this season.

Teamfight Tactics – a popular play mode is now permanent, and not just that, but it’s also receiving its own mobile version, available on iOS and Android. It’ll be fully cross-compatible with the PC-version of the game mode.

LoL 10th anniversary

© Riot Games

Beyond the League, all the projects announced

The news that Riot released aren’t just related to League though – for the first time in a decade, Riot is working on new games. They just released a trailer for their codenamed ‘Project A’, a tactical shooter, but they have significantly more up their sleeves than just that one shooter.

See also: The trailer for the new Riot FPS games is out

Riot is working on a card game called ‘Legends of Runeterra’, a fighting game called ‘Project L’, an RPG game called ‘Project F’, and even a new animated series called Riot Games Arcane.

Read also: Riot Games Officially announced that they’ve been working on a new fighting game

All of that sounds quite cryptic – there’s a lot of projects and letters involved, and all of a sudden Riot seems to want to branch out from one thing to just about everything else. Of course, LoL 10th anniversary is the perfect opportunity for Riot to lift the veil on their other projects.

Dropping the bomb: Legends of Runeterra

All the different games that were just announced each came with just a little tidbit of info on them, such as a few images, scenes or even demo-footage, all wrapped up in a 4-minute video. Right now, we know more about the card game that Riot is developing than about the others. Legends of Runeterra, it’s called, and every single card in it will be from a region in Runeterra. The different regions each have a unique playstyle and strategic advantages and disadvantages.

One pretty interesting thing the guys at Riot are promising is that there won’t be randomised card packs that players have to buy, but rather that they will have to earn and gain access to the cards in different ways. Pre-registering is already open – interested players can head to playruneterra.com and register for a chance to get access right away.

Legends of Runeterra

© Riot Games

Riot Games Arcane

The other, not-so game-related piece of news that Riot announced is about their new animated show – Riot Games Arcane. RGA has a unique animation style that looks a little like the game Life is Strange – an almost painted and very distinct look for what seems to be an engaging and unique mage-punk series based on the League of Legends world and lore.

Not a lot is known about the characters and story yet, but fan theories are already running rampant – from younger versions of beloved characters and their origin stories to alternative universes, players and fans are excited to see what’s coming. A video game company making a TV show is no small thing either – it sets a fantastic precedent in what is otherwise a very disappointing world filled with subpar video game movie adaptations.

Everything we’ve seen on this project so far is positive, and fans are more than excited not just for this but for all of Riot’s new ventures. Whether the reality of it all lives up to the hype and the expectations remains to be seen, but for now we really only know one thing: We have to wait.

LoL 10th anniversary LoL: many surprises, but we have to wait

It’s unlikely much of anything will be happening this year – odds are, there won’t even be all that many more announcements this year at all, but that’s okay – Riot Games have given us plenty to chew on for the time being. The company itself is taking a humorous approach to it all, tweeting about how diversifying their portfolio changes everything – however, they also promised that League of Legends wouldn’t be neglected because of all this.

So, all there is to do now is waiting for the next big announcement from Riot.

Meanwhile, for the most passionate League of Legends fans, Riot Game has made another small project in collaboration with Netflix to keep the spirits alive: League of Legends Origins, the untold story of the most played PC game in the world. A documentary in which fans, experts and founders of Riot Games talk about the rise of this video game company, from the first free demo to the huge global business.

For now – happy 10th anniversary, LoL!