Legends of Runeterrais a fascinating case study on how a live-service game can reinvent itself completely and still thrive. Riot’s digital card game began as a PvP experience at the tail end of the card game craze, but following the game’s first year, the revenue began to peter out.
At the beginning of 2024, Riot Gameslaid off over 500 employeesand shuttered its Riot Forge indie publishing wing. To stay sustainable, the majority of resources were diverted to Riot’s flagship titles: League of Legends and Valorant.
However, in the intervening years, Legends of Runeterra discovered a lifeline. The game’s PvE component, the Path of Champions, wound up being far more popular than PvP. This was a boon for the team as a controlled single-player component needs fewer resources to maintain than PvP, which requires constant innovation and balance. Though PvP remains online, Path of Champions is now undoubtedly the focus of Riot’s development efforts.
Another twist in the tale came with the recent announcement of Riftbound, a physical trading card game in the vein of Magic: the Gathering. Following the announcement, disgruntled Legends of Runeterra playersexpressed frustration, saying Riot had given up on their game in favour of a TCG?, something in vogue that’s more profitable than the digital card game space right now.
Sixteen months after the layoffs, I had the opportunity to sit down with Eric Shen, executive producer on Legends of Runeterra, and Penelope Aretos, marketing creative director on Legends of Runeterra, to discuss this direction.
Different Card Games, Different Audiences
While Riftbound and Legends of Runeterra are both card games, they’re intended for different audiences. There’s not as much overlap as you’d think between the digital and physical card game communities. Still, Riot having two separate, unrelated card games was always going to be contentious for fans of the original, and Shen is keenly aware of this.
“I think the two different games complement each other well, and they occupy different kinds of places in the card game ecosystem,” he begins. “Riftbound is obviously a physical game. It’s intended to be social with friends, you go to tournaments, or you go to local game shops to find those games. Whereas Legends is more accessible, we are a mobile-dominant game. You’re playing a quick session when you’re in line, or you’re on lunch or something like that. It’s just a very different kind of Riot card game experience, so we think these two go together very well.”
Several former members of the Legends of Runeterra team are currently working on Riftbound, such as Riftbound’s game director Dave Guskin, who was once LoR executive producer. These teams still interact closely, with Shen saying the collaboration is beneficial to both. Although Riot’s two card games certainly have some natural synergies, Shen believes it’s too early to speculate on whether the two will have explicit crossovers.
“It’s very early in Riftbound’s life cycle to know exactly what [collaboration] will look like. I do know that one of the big points of both games is that we want all League champions to eventually make it into the game and have an expression. I could see a world where this activation is coordinated. I think we would look for those opportunities if they make sense for both Riftbound players and LoR players.”
Aretos adds that as the strategy genre at Riot grows, “the opportunities for collaboration are definitely on the table.”
Legends Continues to Grow
Riot Games co-founder Marc “Tryndamere” Merrillrecently extolled Legends of Runeterra during the game’s fifth anniversary, praising the scrappy nature of the team in the wake of layoffs, and revealing that Path of Champions is significantly more profitable than PvP was.
“There’s an important difference between then and now,” Shen explains. “When we were making both PvP and Path of Champions, we had to spend 90 percent of our resources on making the PvP, while 70 to 80 percent of players were in Path of Champions. It made a lot more sense to put the resources where players are.”
Shen also agrees with Merrill in his assertion that LoR is not in ‘maintenance mode’. “We’re not just doing Path stuff, the game is actively growing, we’re actively developing more stuff, we’re excited for what we’re doing later this year, which players will hopefully enjoy when we kick it up a notch.”.
The elephant in the room is that, despite Path of Champions proving far more popular, a vocal part of the community adores PvP and is unhappy the mode isn’t receiving the level of active development it used to. For some, the revelation of Riftbound has deepened these wounds.
“I really love being part of a game where we have really passionate fans,” Shen begins. “We get it, people want to see their favourite thing continue to grow and thrive. I will say for sure that Riftbound is not a result of the changes to LoR. LoR would’ve changed this way whether Riftbound existed or not, simply because of the dominance of Path of Champions.”
“So, I get why players would make [negative comments], and of course, like I said, they’re very passionate. I would much rather work on a game and have a community that is very vocal about the things they love, rather than one that doesn’t care one way or another. So, we hear them. I get where they’re coming from, but they’re not looking at things the way they truly are. I just hope they continue to play PvP.”
The good news for both PvP and PvE players is that the future of Legends of Runeterra is encouraging. Riot hadn’t expected such a strong commercial performance and player retention following the changes, and following LoR’s unlikely success, Riot is eager to begin re-investing in the game.
“I think Riot did not know what was going to happen in the first year,” Shen explains. “They’re really happy with the outcomes the team has been able to achieve over the last 15 or 16 months. We have constant conversations with Riot about what’s the right way to responsibly grow and invest in the team, so that we can deliver a better experience for players. I’m really happy to say that’s a constant ongoing thing right now, so yeah, Riot wants to invest in LoR. The better LoR does, based on reactions from players and how they respond to things, the more Riot is interested in fostering it and continuing to have it grow and move forward. We’re actively having discussions about the right way to push LoR from an investment standpoint.”
Shen even suggested that, in a hypothetical scenario where the majority of players began playing PvP again, the team would also “make the right decision for players” in terms of where they allocate their resources. So, never say never, PvP players.
A Bright Future
As one can imagine, 16 months ago was a low point for the Legends of Runeterra team. The game’s development process fundamentally changed, and several colleagues were laid off. It’s been a long road back, but by all accounts, the game is now thriving.
“I think, unsurprisingly, it’s a tough thing. You were certainly catching Rioters making LoR at a low point for morale, and I’m really happy to say by and large the team is now in a much better space,” Shen says. “Game development is hard, game development when you’re a scrappy team rediscovering its direction is also hard. I’m really grateful the team has persevered super well and has put in their best effort to deliver greatness for players. I think it really shows in the way we’re continuing to push forward, and Riot is really pleased with how things are turning out, wants to invest more so the team can continue to do a great job of delivering more great stuff to LoR players.”
“About 16 months ago, I was talking to one of our designers,” Aretos adds. “We were having a one-on-one and we were kind of talking about the team, and how it was a tough time. We looked around at the folks on the LoR team, who are still here today; everyone is so passionate and really optimistic which I think is a really important ingredient to have when you’re on a team like ours, and I think because of that we’ve persevered through quite a lot, and the future looks bright.”
