League of Legends developer, Riot Games, is moving ahead with “Project K”. Announced in a video, it’s a League of Legends trading card game (TCG). It’s the latest game from the studio, as it pushes to create more games rather than relying solely on the massive esports title.
The TCG will not be a physical version of its digital card game, Legends of Runeterra, but its own game entirely. This is just a first glimpse at the game, but Riot appears to be putting its full weight behind it.
Project K will launch in China first, with a planned release in 2025. Riot has confirmed that it has secured printing and production on the game, meaning that a Western launch shouldn’t be too far behind.
From the video, it’s hard to tell how the game will be played, but small glimpses of cards and terms used by those featured let us vaguely guess. Terms like “ganked” are used, as well as references to “moving battlefield”. League’s game is split into three lanes, which you have to defend from the other team.
Movement between battlefields indicates that the game will try to emulate that lane-like structure. This would be similar in concept to Artifact, Valve’s Dota 2 digital card game designed by the creator of Magic: The Gathering.
It’ll also support up to four players, and known TCG terms like “aggro” and “tempo” are thrown around to give an idea of who it’s aimed at.
League of Legends TCG already plans a competitive scene
Announced by Game Director Dave Guskin and Chengran Chai, Executive Producer, the game will be supporting organized play. They’ve described it as a “whole competitive ecosystem”, as it appears to be targeting Wizards of the Coast’s Magic: The Gathering (MTG) and Pokemon: TCG (PTCG).
These games don’t only run major tournaments, but also support local store competitions and casual events, like Friday Night Magic. However, Riot has a significant advantage over Wizards and even Pokemon.
League of Legends is a huge esport, with millions of dollars spent each tournament on prize pools, as well as major sport-level productions.
Wizards of the Coast’s MTG tournament scene has been heavily critical over the last few years for its inability to put on a decent show. While the Hasbro-owned company has picked up the slack more recently, it pales in comparison to how Riot covers its games.
Riot’s League TCG has a lot to beat
For the last few years, Riot has been pushing to produce more with League of Legends. It has already managed to produce the highly praised Arcane TV series on Netflix. The company also managed to sit side-by-side with Valve with its take on Counter-Strike, a multiplayer shooter with a 24-year history, with Valorant.
Smaller games have also been released, as well as plans to bring a League of Legends fighting game, 2XKO (previously Project L).
Project K, however, has an uphill battle. While Magic and Pokemon are growing from strength to strength, Disney threw its hat into the ring last year with Lorcana.
MTG is also expected to grow exponentially next year, as it introduces Marvel and Final Fantasy cards into the mix. There’s also the ever-growing popularity of the One Piece TCG, as well as smaller games like Flesh and Blood, all vying for the attention of players.
