Developer Riot Games has released new footage and revealed content details for Project L. Under that temporary title, the company is working on a 2D fighting game set in the Runeterra universe.
Project L will be a fighting game where players choose a team of two characters and compete against a similar team. The characters are based on the Champions from the Runeterra universe and League of Legends. As an example, the creators show the character Ekko, who has a rewind attack, which allows him to repeat a previously performed attack.
Although Riot shows gameplay of Project L in a video, the makers emphasize that this is a vertical slice. This means that the game has not yet been developed, but that a small piece has been made playable to specifically show these images and action.
“It may seem like the game is almost finished, but there’s still a lot of work to do,” the developers say. Project L is still in the early stages of development and will not be released this year or next year, Riot stressed. The studio won’t say when the game will be released, but the wording points to a 2023 release at the earliest.
The goal of the creators is to create a fighting game that will give players “years or decades” and emphasize that they don’t want to rush it. The game is intended to be easy to play, yet challenging to master completely. Riot will also put a lot of emphasis on the netcode, for smooth online gameplay. The studio uses its RiotDirect technique, which is also used in League of Legends and Valorant.
Project L was first announced in 2019, but after that it was quiet around the fighting game for a long time. The studio says it will now provide more information about the development. Next year, Riot will announce more on two occasions. The first update will be given sometime in the first half of 2022.