Generally, we’d advise you to take anything Riot’s Marc Merrill says about the Riot MMO with a grain of salt, as Merrill has a bit of a reputation for tweaking the nose of MMO players specifically about this title. But he did spend some time at DICE talking it up, according to fresh reporting.
Game File’s Stephen Totilo writes that Merrill told him that Riot is indeed still pursuing the MMO: “[I]t’s probably the project I personally spend the most time on as well,” Merrill says.
“I can go through all the laundry list of why it’s hard, but, you know, I think Riot’s exactly the type of company that should go after those types of opportunities, if we’re trying to make it better for the player. […] And with the League IP, we’ve been investing so much for so long, over time, sort of growing this world and adding dimensions. People want to run around the world of Runeterra. And so we want to help them do that, in ways that are worth it and meaningful to them.”
Apparently, he also joked about getting the game out before humans land on Mars. Yeah, a bit more nose-tweaking there.
As readers know, we’ve been keeping tabs on the so-called Riot MMO drama since 2018, though it wasn’t confirmed until 2020. Since then it’s lost multiple top devs, including Greg Street in 2023, compounded by company-wide layoffs in 2024 and new-new leadership that announced a reset of direction while taking the project “dark.” Just last week, another top director exited the project. In other words, there’s a reason we’re still skeptical and reporters are still asking questions like this of Merrill.
• The Riot MMO just lost yet another key staffer, this time its technical director • Riot Games promises that it’s still ‘working hard’ on the Riot MMORPG • Rumor: Riot Games is working on a Valorant-themed MMOFPS • Riot has ‘decided to reset the direction’ of the Riot MMORPG as team goes ‘dark’ under new boss • Riot Games laid off over 500 people last night, and no we don’t know what it means for the Riot MMO • Riot Games exec says MMO is still in early phases, but the studio is ‘committed to the genre’ • So just how many years away is the Riot MMO now? • Riot Games shares vague gameplay and design details for its in-progress Riot MMO • Rumor: What the heck is Riot’s ‘Project T’? • Riot MMO’s principal game designer steps down in what former Riot dev calls ‘a natural part of the life cycle of a game dev’ • The Riot MMO marches onward, Riot says, following Ghostcrawler’s departure • Greg ‘Ghostcrawler’ Street leaves Riot – and the Runeterra MMO he was spearheading • Riot MMO lead still cagey about game details as he talks about career and online RPG design • Riot’s new League of Legends novel may be tied into the upcoming MMORG • Riot’s Greg Street explains the Riot MMO’s purported ‘low-key’ reveal • Riot doesn’t want the Runeterra MMO to ‘be the only game you will ever play’ • Greg Street clarifies Riot MMO progress: ‘It is going great. The team is so stacked.’ • Greg ‘Ghostcrawler’ Street says the Riot MMO will likely be his ‘last major franchise’ • Riot Games posts another series of jobs for its in-development Runeterra MMO • Vague Patch Notes: Unpacking the Riot MMO’s group-centric philosophy • Riot confirms Runeterra MMO’s group-centered design philosophy • Riot’s Runeterra MMO exec confirms the game will have PvP of some sort • Riot hires Witcher 3’s lead quest designer for its MMO, imposes stiffer AFK penalties in League of Legends • Riot’s Runeterra MMO director hints at possible character models and world size on Twitter • The director for Riot Games’ Runeterra MMO turns his mind to character customization • Riot’s League of Legends MMO: ‘We’re going to make some choices that you may not agree with’ • Riot Games starts hiring ‘a raid team’ of devs for its Runeterra MMORPG • The Soapbox: What I want to see in Riot’s League of Legends MMO • Greg ‘Ghostcrawler’ Street confirms that Riot Games is working on a League of Legends MMO • Riot Games opens Riot Forge to publish ‘bespoke’ League of Legends IP games • Riot Games says it’s really, truly not working on a League of Legends MMO • Riot Games continues to tease the possibility of an MMORPG • Riot’s Marc Merrill was just joking about a League of Legends MMO • Riot co-founder asks the Twitterverse whether it should build an MMO Source: Game File via VG247. Cheers, Alessio!
