Riot Games’ upcoming online CCG Legends of Runeterra will be set in the same universe as its MOBA title, League of Legends. However, while it’ll feature elements familiar from LoL, like Champions and the Nexus, it looks like it’ll still be very much its own game – its game designer has said the LoR devs are “not just trying [to] directly port LoL 1:1.”
In an interview with PCGamesN, Legends of Runeterra game designer Steve Rubin tells us about how Riot approached adapting League of Legends’ elements into the card game. “Legends of Runeterra was developed from the ground up, with a focus on providing a fresh, unique CCG gameplay experience and further exploring the world of Runeterra,” he tells us.
“When it comes to familiar elements from League of Legends like the Nexus or Champions, we’re not just trying [to] directly port LoL 1:1, but rather provide immersive elements that improve the overall player experience.”
Rubin explains that, perhaps surprisingly, much of the League of Legends influence and crossover actually filtered into the game later on in its development. “We actually had fewer familiar elements for quite a while during development, until we learned that early alpha testers often felt the game was missing things that would really make it feel like part of the LoL universe.”
In response to this, Rubin says, the Legends of Runeterra devs “iterated on everything from the game board’s theme to cards likes Chain Vest and Recall that directly referenced LoL, and saw testers report greatly increased immersion and overall enjoyment.”
So, while it looks like players can expect the game to crossover and connect with its sister MOBA game in some aspects, Legends of Runeterra will still offer a standalone experience when it releases sometime next year. In the meantime, check our our guide on how to play Legends of Runeterra, ready for when it arrives.