Riot Games Responds to Rumors That It's Developing a…

Summary

Riot Games' communication manager shuts down rumors of the studio developing a $200 million Deadlock competitor in collaboration with Tencent.
No project like Deadlock is currently in the works at Riot Games' R&D department.
Riot Games is instead working on a free-to-play fighting game dubbed 2XKO, transitioning Valorant to Unreal Engine 5, and an unannounced MMO.

Riot Games has debunked a recent rumor claiming that the studio was developing a competitor to Valve's upcoming hero shooter Deadlock. The dubious source of the rumor had already muddled its credibility, but Riot Games' definitive confirmation wholly discredits it.

Riot Games has two of the most popular competitive live-service titles under its belt - League of Legends and Valorant. Both of these games see active player numbers in the millions on a daily basis, making them immensely successful ventures for Riot Games. Where League of Legends is a MOBA and Valorant is a hero shooter, Valve's latest live-service game Deadlock merges these genres into a unique blend. Deadlock is currently in an alpha test state, but still garners around 100,000 players every day.

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By Rahman Shaukat

Several game studios are likely taking note of Deadlock's unique qualities and novelties for their own projects, but a recent unfounded rumor flew a bit too close to the sun, alleging that Riot Games received a hefty $200 million investment from Tencent to develop a Deadlock competitor. The rumor's only accompanying source being a doctored PC Gamer article made it questionable from the onset, and now Riot Games communication manager Joe Hixson has completely shut it down in a recent tweet.

Riot Games Has "Nothing Like Deadlock" in Development

Hixson flat-out called the rumor "extra fake," aptly pointing out that the article it refers to doesn't exist and that Tencent doesn't fund Riot Games' development in such a capricious manner. To cap off his refutation, Hixson stated that "nothing like Deadlock" is currently being worked on at Riot Games' R&D department. As far as confirmed projects go, Riot Games is developing two new projects set in the world of League of Legends. The first is free-to-play fighting game 2XKO, which will launch in 2025, and the second project is an unannounced MMO that's a bit further out.

Riot Games likely has too much on its plate at the moment to be working on a big-budget Deadlock competitor, especially since the studio is also moving Valorant to Unreal Engine 5. As mentioned previously, Riot Games already has a highly popular MOBA and hero shooter to its name, so it doesn't make sense that the studio would continue chasing success in these genres. If anything, Riot Games' in-development and canceled projects suggest that it really wants to capitalize on the fighting game genre. 2XKO seems to be faring well with players, so it might just turn out to be another Riot hit when it releases next year.

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