League of Legends developer Riot Games has revealed that their upcoming fighting game, currently titled Project L, will be a 2v2 tag fighter. Things have been busy in the growing world of League of Legends, as developer Riot Games moves to expand the franchise across multiple media platforms. The recent success of Arcane, the first show to be based in the world of Runeterra, has laid a strong groundwork for Riot Games to build off of. The animated series was quickly renewed for a second season by Netflix, where its first season currently sits as one of the most-watched shows on the platform.
The expansion of the League of Legends franchise has also made its way into multiple other titles via the RiotX Arcane Crossover event. Earlier this month, ranged markswoman Jinx made her way into Fortnite as a new skin, while Magic: The Gathering Secret Lair will soon see drops that include cards based on Arcane. Perhaps most surprising has been the sudden reveal and release of Hextech Mayhem: A League of Legends Story, a new rhythm game starring Yordle explosive expert Ziggs, which is already available on PC and Switch with a Netflix App release coming in the near future.
In a new blog post, Riot Games has revealed that Project L, the developers first fighting game, will be a 2v2 Tag fighter. While the game was initially revealed over two years ago, this new look at the game is by far the most detailed to date. The visuals for the upcoming fighter have changed quite a bit since the first teaser was shown in October 2019, with significantly more polish on display within the short overview video included in the blog. Champions confirmed to be making their way into the game include Darius, Jinx, Ekko, Katarina, and Ahri.
Particular focus was given to "punk genius" Ekko, who joins veteran champion, Caitlyn, in getting a visual overall this year. Ekko's time-warping abilities are put on full display, showing a balance of accessibility and depth Riot Games is making a key part of the fighting game. Regarding how the game controls, Executive Producer Tom Cannon acknowledged the "strong opinions about mechanical difficulty in fighting games", but noted that Project L is "embracing the easy-to-learn, hard-to-master mentality". The game's combat appears reminiscent of other tag fighters such as Marvel vs Capcom and Skullgirls, with a focus on long juggle combos accented by the use of assists from your second character. Particular emphasis was also placed on the game's online play, which Riot Games confirmed will be based on rollback netcode, by far the preferred netcode of the fighting game community.
Unfortunately, it appears it will be some time before the community at large gets their hands on Project L, as the game will not be released until 2023 at the earliest. This may set the game up well time-wise for 2024, where it may join League of Legends in Riot Games' efforts to bring gaming to the Paris Olympics. With so many games, crossovers, and new content coming from the world of Runeterra, there will be no shortage of League of Legends content to consume for years to come.
League of Legends is available on PC and Mac.
Source: Riot Games