Some time ago, Riot Games expressed its intentions to branchLeague of Legendsout, creating more games taking place in its world of Runeterra. Of course, this isn’t to say that Riot hasn’t already done that to a certain degree, but with the release ofArcaneand itscrossovers into games likeAmong Us, it’s clear Riot is now following through with that intention in a big way.
That’s even more true now, as Riot is keeping the momentum going with newLeague of Legendsspinoff titles. One of these was announced way back when the concept was still being heavily discussed:Ruined King: A League of Legends Story, a theoretical major step for Riot Games into other genres. As of today, the game is no longer theoretical.
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Ruined King: A League of Legends Storyis out right now. With very little fanfare save for some tweets, Riot Forge announced thatRuined Kingis officially available for purchase on multiple storefronts, from Nintendo Switch to Steam and the Epic Games Store. Many players thought that the soonest players could expect a full single-player experience in Runeterra was theupcomingHextech Mayhem, but that’s certainly not the case anymore.
While it seems there was some initial trouble getting the game on to all of the storefronts, those issues are apparently cleared up now. As of this article, the game is fully purchasable wherever players care to get it, except on mobile. PerhapsEpic adding multiple Riot titlesto its store could have been seen as a prelude to this, but only by the most farsighted players. The game itself is a turn-based RPG with mechanics for altering turn order, where players take control of a group ofLeague of Legendschampions to bring down Viego, the Ruined King.
Lore hounds forLeague of Legendswill no doubt have a lot to unpack with this game, as it brings multiple champions together outside of the staticLeaguesetting. It also interacts with Viego, whose story was largely wrapped up in the Ruination event, so who’s to say how it will be expanded or rehashed inRuined King. Perhaps some of thehidden stories inLegends of Runeterra’s cardswill even come into play.
Ruined King’s reception at this point is critical for Riot’s future endeavors.Arcaneand its Riot eventhave been well received so far, and if the same is true forRuined King, it could mean Riot and its Forge program blossoming into a lot of different genres through Runeterra. Conversely, ifRuined Kingis bad, it could spell death for future Riot risktaking. All of Runeterra and many players now hold their breath as they determine the game’s worth.
Ruined King: A League of Legends Storyis out right now for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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