League of Legends: Wild Rift will take the popular MOBA into a new realm of mobile and console gaming. Let's talk about how Wild Rift will work and when fans will be able to play it.
Right now, League of Legends (owned by Riot Games) can only be played on PC. That means the game does not have console or mobile versions. However, Riot is working to address that. The solution: LoL: Wild Rift.
Considering the company’s current expansion initiatives, like using LoL lore and characters for non-MOBA game modes, it’s not surprising they’d work to take LoL to these other gaming platforms. They’ve already had success with other games they’ve ported to mobile (Legends of Runeterra and Teamfight Tactics). This new Wild Rift transition probably felt like a natural step.
What’s Different?
Not everything LoL offers can stay the same with mobile or console gameplay. After all, mobile phones and consoles can’t handle the needs of the multiplayer game the same way as PCs.
For example, the controls have to be completely different. Consoles and phones don’t have keyboards, obviously. Riot Games had to adapt Wild Rift for that.
Mobile users will rely on the ability and attack buttons in the lower right corner of their screen. Conversely, their direction controls will be in the bottom left.
Console controls will look similar but will be edited for controller use. This means the controls will focus on touchpads and correlating abilities to the different X, A, triangle, etc. buttons.
On each platform, the graphics will be simplified. The textures on Summoner’s Rift, the jungle monsters, and the champions themselves will be less defined. However, they will still be fully recognizable as the LoL characters that fans know and love.
Release Date?
Riot Games has already started testing Wild Rift’s mobile beta with Asian markets for a few months. Meanwhile, the international mobile launch won’t likely happen until spring of 2021.
As far as consoles go, the answer is a little trickier. Wild Rift on mobile is clearly a priority, so Riot will likely wait until their mobile plan is further down the line. Wild Rift could still come out on console in 2021, but it’s very likely that it could be pushed back even more.
At the very least, no one has a definitive date for consoles, so console fans wanting Wild Rift will have to wait (or just download the game on mobile. Don't they have phones?)
All Diablo: Immortal jokes aside, Wild Rift is coming and will make a big impact on expanding the LoL community. It just might take a bit more time.
READ ALSO
Other Categories
WePlay Promotes
