Riot Games truly pulled out all the stops during their 10th anniversary live stream! The stream is an absolute spectacle to behold. Contained within that spectacle are several intense announcements, some more alarming than others. In particular, Riot’s announcements about the new games they’re working on are the most shocking. It seems as if Riot has come out of the shadows and issued a direct challenge to Blizzard. Depending on the reception of Riot’s upcoming titles, the old gaming industry titans might have a real fight on their hands. Here’s why!
A Moment of Weakness
Currently, Blizzard is receiving heavy criticisms from players and onlookers alike. The reasons behind these criticisms vary, and are also not the point here! The point is that the company itself is under substantial scrutiny. Some of Blizzard’s most popular titles are World of Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, and Hearthstone. Each of these titles has, historically, done quite well, in addition to filling different gaming niches.
Challenge: Alternatives Arise!
During Riot’s 10th anniversary live stream, they put Blizzard on blast pretty decisively! There are a few offhanded comments and references to Blizzard’s current controversies. But the real meat and potatoes of it lay in Riot’s project announcements. Most imminently, Riot announced Legends of Runeterra. This is a card game set to release in 2020. The game will feature free-to-play card-earning gameplay and will be in direct competition with Hearthstone. Additionally, Riot revealed what looks to be a dungeon-crawler-style game, codenamed “Project F,” which appears to fill a similar niche to Diablo. Finally, codename: Project A, a character- and class-based first-person shooter, designed for competitive play! Overwatch will find this designation familiar.
With these announcements, Riot seems ready to offer alternatives to some of the most popular titles in the industry. Their success is to be determined, but it’s safe to say that Riot challenged Blizzard definitively!