Riot Games Is Working On A New Fighting Game, Says EVO Co-Founder Tom Cannon

Ted Ranosa, Tech Times 03 August 2019, 10:08 pm

League of Legends maker Riot Games is reportedly developing a new fighting game, which it hopes will appeal to a wider audience than previous titles.

Tom Cannon, the co-founder of the Evo fighting game tournament and employee at Riot, told esports journalists that they are currently working on a new title for the Los Angeles-based game developer.

"Back in 2016, when we joined forces with Riot, I said that we were going to go in the hole for a while," Cannon said. "I want to be able to let people in on maybe the worst kept secret in the universe, which is I can confirm that we are working on a fighting game for Riot."

Widespread Appeal Of Fighting Games

Cannon became part of Riot after his former game studio, Radiant Entertainment, was acquired by the MOBA game maker. Radiant was well-known for developing Rising Thunder, an online PC game featuring giant robots duking it out in one-on-one bouts.

Cannon did not offer any additional details regarding their upcoming title for Riot, but he did provide insights as to why they prefer fighting games over other video game genres.

"So, the reason why we did Rising Thunder in the first place is that we felt that fighting games needed to be enjoyed by way more people," Cannon said. "Like as big as things are, we think it has the potential to get bigger."

Riot confirmed Cannon's announcement about a possible new game in the pipeline. In a statement to IGN, the game developer said it has experienced the profound impact of fighting games on players, something that it wishes to bring to more people.

Riot added that it is working hard to come up with a video game worthy of the fighting game community. While the company is making progress, it believes it is still a long way from being ready to release more details about the new title.

Riot And Radiant Entertainment

Before its acquisition of Radiant, Riot mostly focused on its flagship MOBA game League of Legends. The company released supplemental products related to the game, such as interactive stories and official soundtracks. Adding Radiant's flair for the fighting genre could provide Riot's titles with an even more fast-paced and edge-of-your-seat dynamic.

Some fans have already expressed interest in seeing a fighting version of LoL. In 2014, Instaburst created a fan-made video game titled League of Fighters. It reimagines LoL characters going one-on-one in action-packed duels.

Meanwhile, Brazilian artist Iury Padilha came up with some concept art of what LoL could look like as a fighting game.