14 DAY TRIAL // Riot Games has confirmed that it's begun a process of rebooting the universe of its League of Legends multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) title, in order to make the plot more simple and less restrictive when it came to actual gameplay.
League of Legends is one of the most popular online experiences out there, delighting tens of millions of fans every month by allowing them to act as Summoners who control champions on a great wide battlefield.
However, seeing as how the lore and the game's universe has been increased with every new character and every new event, it became clear that some limitations from the early days of the game were affecting the actual gameplay, much to the disappointment of developer Riot Games.
According to the studio's newest announcement, however, things are going to change, as a massive reboot of the whole universe is coming to simplify things and ultimate result in a better communion between story and gameplay.
Riot's Tommy Gnox explained that, at first, the story was all about supporting the gameplay, but it soon became a restrictive element when it came to new champions or events.
"In the early days of League, we created a fictional background that would justify how players could control champions during games. We came up with concepts like Summoners, Fields of Justice, an Institute of War, and indeed, the League of Legends itself – all in an attempt to provide fictional context for in-game action."
With the upcoming reboot, Riot wants to push forward the plot of the game as well as the universe in which its world, Runeterra, is located.
"At a very broad level, we’ve decided to push League’s story beyond its original focus on explaining in-game action and forge a new narrative path for Runeterra – a world in which the factions and champions we all know and love have full freedom to grow, travel, and [fight] on a worldwide scale."
"From champion interactions to bios to events (and beyond), we aim to expand the scope of League’s story and pursue a more dynamic and wide-ranging world fit for the outsized capabilities and personalities of our champions."
The decision wasn't taken lightly, according to Knox, but the need for change is a crucial one, especially if League of Legends is to continue growing. However, this doesn't mean that the old stories will be completely forgotten, as the studio isn't planning on a full-fledged restart.
"Story has the potential to affect every element of League of Legends, so the decision to venture into new narrative territory wasn’t made quickly or capriciously. Further, we want you to know that this new approach is focused on opening up possibilities and unlocking a wider, more fully-fledged world – the point isn’t to tear up older stories that form their own cherished part of League’s history," he concluded.
More details about the story changes in LoL are expected in the future, but for now, it's still unclear how deep the reworking of the universe will go.