League of Legends developer, Riot Games, has dealt a blow to fighting game hopefuls. A Washington Post report by Mikhail Klimentov revealed the cancellation of their unannounced project, codenamed "Pool Party."
This project, envisioned as a platform fighter akin to Nintendo's Super Smash Bros., aimed to pit iconic League of Legends champions against each other. While prototyping and discarding ideas is a natural part of game development, Pool Party's demise appears to stem from specific factors.
One contributing factor seems to be the lukewarm reception of Warner Bros.' fighting game, MultiVersus. This fellow platform fighter, featuring characters from various licensed properties, reportedly caused some apprehension within Riot's leadership.
Another factor involves a significant shift in Pool Party's design vision. Initially conceived as a hardcore fighting game, the project later embraced party game elements and mechanics aimed at casual players. This change in direction reportedly frustrated some staff members who disagreed with the new vision for the game.
The article remains unclear on the potential impact of this cancellation on Riot's other fighting game project, the 2v2 team-based Project L (codename 2XKO), which is still slated for release in 2025. Having been part of the Fighting Game Community for years myself, I’m personally stoked to finally have an investment in a Riot title, as I felt a certain pull to their works after watching their masterpiece, Arcane.
Adding a touch of irony to the story is the near-simultaneous update to Delta 2, another MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) game. This update introduced a new fighting game mode called "Mayhem." While significantly smaller in scope than Riot's ambitious project, the timing is quite silly. Project Pool Party died, and Delta 2 fighting game was born immediately after. Welcome back, Project Pool Party.
Riot's decision to cancel Pool Party underscores the challenges of developing fighting games in a saturated market. The League of Legends universe undoubtedly holds immense potential but replicating the success of established franchises like Super Smash Bros. seemingly has intimidated Riot enough to call off the project.
Ahnaf Tajwar
Editor, NoobFeed
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| Platform(s): | PC |
| Publisher(s): | Riot Games, Tencent Holdings Ltd, Garena |
| Developer(s): | Riot Games |
| Genres: | Role-Playing |
| Themes: | Action, Adventure, Fantasy |
| Release Date: | 2009-10-27 |
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