League of Legendshas risen to become a major force in PC gaming since it luanched way back in 2009. Now, the wildly popular MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) game may be making the move to mobile devices sometime in the near future. In an exclusive report supported by three sources,Reutershas revealed that Tencent Holdings and Riot Games are working together to develop a mobile version ofLeague of Legends.
Tencent has its hands in so many different pots across gaming and has already helped to establish a major mobile MOBA game.Arena of Valoris the international version ofWangzhe Rongyao, the Chinese mobile MOBA developed and published by Tencent. It’s available on iOS, Android, and the Nintendo Switch. The highly successful game, also known asHonour of Kings, has reached more than 140 million active monthly users as of March 2019.
The sources state that Tencent had attempted to make a similar move withRiot Gamesyears ago, but Riot rejected the idea at that time.Honour of Kingswas then created and went on to become the world’s highest-grossing MOBA after launching in 2015. If Tencent proceeds with this plan, it would essentially be double-dipping into a market it already dominates, considering how the company owns Riot Games and both developed and published Honour of Kings. Nevertheless, there’s an opportunity to draw in PC gamers who would like to play a familiar MOBA on the go and mobile players who weren’t fond of the characters presented inArena of Valor.
This mobile version ofLeague of Legendsis not guaranteed to be released, and it isn’t clear how far along the game is in terms of development. A mobile version ofLeaguewill draw in interest based simply on the vast popularity of the original game, but it is a different beast to tame. Switching to a mobile format, theLeague of Legendsformula would have to be fine-tuned for shorter play sessions. It will also take some new and engaging options to pull players away fromArena of Valorand other popular mobile MOBA titles to make the investment worthwhile.
