Former World of Warcraft producer Raymond Bartos has joined Riot Games, giving fans renewed hope that the League of Legends MMO might actually come out.
We found out Riot Games’ highly anticipated MMO project — announced half a decade ago now — would be “reset” back in 2024, after Riot co-founder Marc Merrill let players know that the team had decided to go back to the drawing board “some time ago.” Now, however, Bartos has confirmed his move to Riot, following in the footsteps of fellow Blizzard colleague, Orlando Salvatore.
“I’m incredibly excited to be joining Riot on the MMO team!!!” Bartos wrote on LinkedIn (first reported by MassivelyOP). “I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to join such an inspiring group of people, and I can’t wait to get started — showing up every day to provide value for Riot gamers and help deliver an MMO experience players truly enjoy.
“And as a fun bonus I’ve been barely able to contain: I’ll be re-queuing with my longtime duo partner, Orlando Salvatore,” Bartos added. “Given our track record on World of Warcraft, I have a feeling we’ll be moving fast on day one.”
And best of all, Bartos’ LinkedIn profile gives us a clear insight into what he’s working courtesy of his role descriptor: “senior game producer on the MMO [at] Riot Games.”
Concern grew in 2022, when then-executive producer Greg Street warned fans that there is “no guarantee this game will ship.” The lead then went on to announce his departure from Riot in early 2023. Two years ago, when he announced the development reset, Merrill said he understood fans’ frustration at the lack of progress on the MMO, but insisted the time spent in the dark would “help provide space for the team to focus on the incredible amount of work ahead of them.”
“Remember, ‘no news is good news,’ as it means we’re hard at work, pouring our hearts and souls into making something that we hope you’ll love,” he continued.
League of Legends was first released in 2009 and remains one of the world’s biggest, most-played games. A multiplayer online battle arena (or MOBA), it was originally inspired by Warcraft 3 custom map Defense of the Ancients, and played a massive role in pioneering and popularizing the MOBA genre. It has gone on to inspire a number of spin-offs, including digital card game Legends of Runeterra, a mobile version of the game called Wild Rift, and a popular TV series: Arcane.
Last month, we reported that Riot was working on a total makeover of League of Legends. Called “League Next,” the upcoming overhaul will be an update to the existing League of Legends rather than a standalone game. It’s thought the update will fully revamp the game’s visual aesthetic, including characters, UI, and arenas and make some adjustments behind the scenes to help make future updates smoother, although it’s currently unclear if the changes will impact game mechanics.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
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