Is it likely that we will get a LoL 2 anytime soon?
League of Legends 2 - Will Riot Make a New LoL?
Is Riot ever going to work on a League of Legends 2? With the amount of '2' games currently being worked on it has players thinking whether a sequel to the popular MOBA could be a step in the right direction, especially with the success of Wild Rift and the improved visuals of the mobile game.
So, will Riot follow in the footsteps of Activision and Blizzard, who are both currently working on Warzone 2, as well as Overwatch 2, or are we sticking to what we know best and keep playing the original League of Legends rather than focus on a brand-new 'LoL 2 experience'?
Is Riot Considering Making LoL 2 A Reality?
It's pretty hard to answer whether Riot will be upgrading their popular MOBA to a new version, but when scouring Reddit, we found an old Q&A on Reddit in which the answer is basically given right to us. In an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit, one fan asked whether Riot would ever consider making a League of Legends 2, or whether they'll keep the current format and expand the games' lifecycle through updates indefinitely.
Well, one Rioter u/dzareth came through with an answer that was very clear-cut whether League of Legends 2 is happening or not.
I think we are way past League 2 by now... Perhaps you could argue that a rebranding and relaunching of League might make it appeal to new audiences or drive freshness? But it would probably be very expensive way to do it. I don't think that's the way our audience discovers and enjoys League. That said, I've seen a few attempts to do that in our industry with varying degrees of "truth" behind the marketing of that change. As above, I think players know what is going on. If there is merit they try it, if there isn't they won't. If there is merit, then was the marketing of "2" actually really necessary? So, I am fairly skeptical of that approach, I haven't seen the evidence of it paying off. Perhaps there are circumstances where it would.
Judging by these exact comments we can pretty much tell that Riot is not focusing on a League of Legends 2, but instead will continue to evolve the current game and build upon the solid foundation and player base they've built up in the last 12-years.
Would LoL 2 Bring in New Players?
In the Reddit post dzareth does state that rebranding League of Legends could appeal to new audiences, but this would be a very expensive way to do that. The current League of Legends player base would be unlikely to shift to a whole new game with brand-new mechanics after having spent 10-years honing the craft of LoL.
So, even if League of Legends was to rebrand into League of Legends 2, they might gain new players, but many of the older players will not follow suit. Take Runescape for example, a game which was beloved by many, but the moment they drastically updated it, the online game lost most of it's following, prompting the developers to bring back the OG Runescape.
Could Riot Change Enough to Warrant A League of Legends 2?
For Riot to create a League of Legends 2, they would have to change more than just a few champions. They would need to upgrade the visuals, the skins, the champions, make a new client (that actually works properly) and introduce more features like new gameplay, maps... but with their focus expanding into other IPs, like Wild Rift, Legends of Runeterra and their upcoming MMORPG, it seems highly unlikely that they will focus on these changes in League of Legends. Why change a working system, right?
By delving into different types of video games, all in the same universe, Riot won't have to add more to the lore and world-building of Runeterra. Instead, players will be enticed to play the developer's other IPs to find out more about the world.
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Are There A Few Reasons For League of Legends 2 to be Made?
Some fans would argue that there are reasons why Riot should be working on a new League of Legends and drop the old one completely. We have to remember that League of Legends is already over 10-years old and therefore has some pretty outdated mechanics and visuals in the game. So let's check out which issues a League of Legends 2 could fix.
The Client
The League of Legends client is something most people complain about. It's pretty outdated, looks awful and it seems to crash after every second game of League of Legends. Sure it doesn't look like the OG client anymore, but it really doesn't feel like it's a game client from 2022 either.
Some fans have suggested that the Wild Rift client should be something that League of Legends strives for. In the Wild Rift client players are able to add skins onto a wish list so friends are able to know what to gift you. You can also try out champions in the shop ahead of using Blue Essence to purchase them.
Also, you're able to truly see the 3D model of a champion in the model viewer in Wild Rift. This would be another small quality of life addition which could be added to the client for a potential League of Legends 2.
The Visuals
Slowly but surely Riot is reworking older League of Legends champions and bringing them up to speed. However, there are still a multitude of champions that are not up to par with newer released champions and even a champion buff won't be able to help those champions.
Not only that, but the skins also look amazing in Wild Rift, thanks to the turntable animations of the champion models, something League is still lacking. Having better graphics could be added value for a League of Legends 2. Hell, maybe LoL on Unreal Engine in the future?
More Variety In-Game
League of Legends doesn't have too many variations if we're being honest. There is usually one revolving game mode, ARAM and Summoner's Rift. Especially after the exclusion of Twisted Treeline there wasn't much else to do for League of Legends players other than play normal or ranked games in LoL.
So, having a complete overhaul of the system could mean that Riot is going to bring back older game modes like Dominion and Twisted Treeline, maybe also have more changing game modes and bring back some PvE game modes as well. There could be a lot more variety in the game itself if Riot were to build League of Legends from the ground-up once more, right?
While it looks like we won't be getting a League of Legends 2 any time soon, there are some reasons why Riot should make an upgraded version of League of Legends. But for now, we will have to live with our bi-weekly patch updates. It'll likely stay that way in the future too.