There are many “trends” in the gaming space that start out as a simple title or concept doing well with gamers, and then other developers or publishers try to mimic its success so that they can get in on some of that profit. It happens all the time in the gaming world, and you can see it right now if you know where to look. For example, over the last few years, there have been multiple “crossover/in-universe” fighting games that have been trying to “steal the heat” from a certain Nintendo game. Even Riot Games tried to get in on this with their own mega-franchise.
This story comes from Mikhail Klimentov, who claimed that there was a Super Smash Bros-style League of Legends game in the works within the company and that they were even doing a prototype of sorts with about 80 people on it. So, they were invested in it in some form. Thus, the question is about why they canceled it after doing all of this.
The answer is simple: they didn’t like what they were seeing from the competition. Speaking, Riot Games apparently wasn’t in love with the reception that MultiVersus got, which is interesting on multiple levels.
The irony is that they would’ve had a good roster to work with, as their MOBA title has all sorts of Champions that they could’ve played with. They’re also working on a 2v2 fighting game that players can enjoy soon enough, so they might not want to do “too much” within the genre and flood the market with their product.
The other thing to consider here is that there are a lot of fighting games out on the market, even if you don’t realize it. Between the AAA companies and the indie teams who try to make special titles that stand out from the pack, you have to do something good and special to get noticed. That might be what they saw in the other titles that led them to cancel the project. Sure, the titles by Nickelodeon and Player First Games might have had “recognition” to a certain degree, but they don’t stand out as much as some people might think.
In the end, Riot Games always has something in the works, and they’ve been cranking out spinoffs for their characters for some time now. While it would’ve been cool to see what they came up with her, it won’t be the biggest loss to their brand.
