Riot Games
Riot Games business and news from across the web.
Riot believes League of Legends 'mage bot' strats are "healthy diversity" and "need to be viable"Riot Games has decided against planned Brand buffs for League of Legends patch 26.14 due to concerns about mage bot lane strategies, but maintains that this approach offers healthy diversity. Lead Gameplay Designer Matt 'Phroxzon' Leung-Harrison explained that while frustrating for traditional marksmen, mages in the bot lane provide a necessary strategic option and prevent the game from becoming too formulaic.
Riftbound: Vendetta Details Revealed; Rival Champion Legends And New Set MechanicsRiot Games has revealed details for Riftbound: Vendetta, the fourth set for the League of Legends trading card game, set to release on July 31, 2026. The set introduces new mechanics like Unit-Gear and Decrees, alongside three new gameplay mechanics: Flow, Burn, and Empower. It will also feature rivalries between champions such as Shen and Zed, with special Showdown Decks available for two-player experiences.
Riftbound announces a proactive ban ahead of Set 4, with more ban updates on the wayRiftbound lead designer Dave Guskin announced that the card Stealthy Pursuer will be proactively banned in Set 4 due to an infinite combo. A full rules update and ban list will go live on July 24th alongside the Vendetta Pre-Rift. Riot Games is monitoring the card pool and willing to act before problematic combos become entrenched in tournament play.
Riftbound Vendetta Spoilers and card revealed through to releaseRiot Games has begun the spoiler season for its upcoming card game expansion, Riftbound Vendetta, which runs from July 6th to July 18th. The reveal period introduces new mechanics like Flow, Burn, and Empower, alongside new card types such as Decree spells. The season kicked off with a comedic sketch featuring Kennen and Akali, and official blog posts detailing the new gameplay features.- MMO Week in Review: EverQuest risingThis week's MMO news roundup highlights the resurgence of the EverQuest franchise with EverQuest Legends entering paid beta and expansions teased for EverQuest and EverQuest II. Other major stories include the implosion of DreamWorld, potential layoffs at Blizzard and Bethesda, and Sony's shutdown of PS3 and PS Vita storefronts. The article also covers updates and news from various other MMOs like Elder Scrolls Online, Conan Exiles, and Valheim.
Riftbound Vendetta reveals Kennen as the Purple and Yellow Legend ahead of full preview seasonRiot Games has begun revealing content for Riftbound Vendetta, confirming Kennen as the "Purple and Yellow Legend" and detailing the abilities of Akali. The reveals also showcased other cards like Nasus Ascended and Ocean Drake, with more information to be released throughout July.
Epic Games CEO says "Steam charges such high fees" that companies like Genshin Impact maker MiHoYo "find it more profitable to go it alone," fans remind him MiHoYo has multiple games on SteamEpic Games CEO Tim Sweeney stated that Steam's high fees make it more profitable for major companies like MiHoYo to distribute their games independently. This claim was met with a community note clarifying that MiHoYo has a growing presence on Steam, recently releasing Zenless Zone Zero and potentially planning a Steam launch for Genshin Impact.- The MOP Up: Sky Children of the Light creates an interactive Vincent van Gogh exhibitSky Children of the Light has launched an interactive exhibit inspired by the art and life of Vincent van Gogh. This article also rounds up other recent MMO news, including updates for Sea of Thieves, Marathon, Raven2, Skull and Bones, Riftbound, Enlisted, The First Descendant's Evangelion collaboration, and Disney Dreamlight Valley's upcoming Adventure Pack.
- Riot Games unveils plans for League of Legends Classic after datamining leaks spring forthRiot Games has officially confirmed League of Legends Classic, a mode featuring older character models, skins, runes, and maps, following datamining leaks. Studio head Andrei van Roon confirmed that original character kits will return, with more details promised during the MSI Finals esports event on July 11th.
Valorant's Neon is "curbed" for now, but Riot says "balancing her is definitely challenging"Riot Games is discussing the challenges of balancing the agent Neon in Valorant, with Lead Agent Designer Dan Hardison and Agents & Live Product Manager Tiffy Tsay acknowledging her speed and movement abilities have been difficult to manage. Recent changes aimed to improve the 'playing against' experience by adjusting her High Gear ability and fuel replenishment, which has been considered a success in curbing player frustration and increasing agent variety.
League of Legends Classic is real: "This was the right time"Riot Games has officially announced League of Legends Classic, a mode that returns the game to its earlier state, including classic Runes and Summoner Mastery trees. The announcement was made via a developer update video featuring Executive Producer Paul Bellezza and Head of League Studio Andrei van Roon, after details were accidentally leaked onto the PBE. The Classic mode will feature updated "modern tech under the hood" and will be integrated into the same client as the current game.- Danger ZoneRiot Games is changing its controversial always-on requirement for the Valorant anti-cheat software, Riot Vanguard. A new on-demand mode will be introduced, which will require a strict Windows 11 security stack. This change aims to address player concerns about the anti-cheat's constant presence.
Valve has "a nice thing going on on PC," Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney says, but "they're missing out on a lot of opportunity" without the likes of Fortnite and Genshin ImpactEpic Games CEO Tim Sweeney believes Valve's Steam platform is missing significant opportunities by not including popular games like Fortnite and Genshin Impact. He argues that Steam's closed ecosystem limits its reach compared to more open platforms like the Epic Games Store and Microsoft Store, suggesting Valve could benefit from a more collaborative approach to digital distribution on PC.- PAX West 2026 Welcomes Riot Games’ Marc Merrill as Storytime SpeakerRiot Games Co-Founder Marc Merrill has been announced as the storytime speaker for PAX West 2026, which will take place at the Seattle Convention Center from September 4-7, 2026. Merrill, instrumental in the creation of games like League of Legends and VALORANT, will share a retrospective of his career. The event will also feature game demos, panels, concerts, and tournaments.
League of Legends' Vanguard anti-cheat finally gets the option to only run when you fire up a game, as Riot roll out "on-demand sessions" for "sufficiently secured" PCsRiot Games has introduced an optional 'on-demand' mode for its Vanguard anti-cheat software in League of Legends and Valorant. This new feature allows Vanguard to run only when a game is active, rather than starting with the PC, for users whose systems meet modern security requirements. Players with older hardware that does not meet these requirements will continue to use the always-on version of Vanguard.
There's a surprising amount of major games you can't play on Valve's Steam Machine - here are eight of the biggest, and whyValve's Steam Machine, despite its potential, faces significant limitations due to its SteamOS (a Linux variant) not supporting many popular games. This is primarily caused by anti-cheat software, which is incompatible with Linux, rendering titles like Destiny 2, Fortnite, Battlefield 6, Apex Legends, GTA Online, EA Sports FC 24, and modern Call of Duty games unplayable. While installing Windows is an option, it defeats the purpose of the console-like device.
You can finally turn Riot's Vanguard anti-cheat off when you're not playing a gameRiot Games is updating its Vanguard anti-cheat system to an 'on demand' model, meaning it will only run when playing League of Legends or Valorant and will shut down afterward. This change requires modern PC hardware and specific Windows security features like UEFI Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 to be enabled. The update aims to reduce the intrusiveness of the kernel-mode software while maintaining its effectiveness against cheaters.
Tim Sweeney says only hope for new games is to 'connect to economies of other games'Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney believes that connecting virtual economies between different games is the only way for new titles to succeed against established giants like Fortnite and Roblox. He suggests that enabling players to transfer in-game items and investments across games, even those from different companies, will reinvigorate the market and drive player engagement towards in-game purchases over buying full games.
Riot walks back putting League of Legends' controversial 'last hit indicators' into ranked play, for nowRiot Games has reversed its decision to implement controversial 'last hit indicators' into ranked League of Legends play following significant community backlash. The feature, which marks when minions are within lethal damage range, will remain in non-ranked modes for further testing and data collection. The company stated that while they believe the tool doesn't degrade skill expression, they will gather more feedback before making a final decision on its inclusion in ranked matches.
VALORANT Heads To The Mountains With Summit, Retakes And A Fresh New ActRiot Games has launched Season 2026 // Act 4 for Valorant, introducing the new 'Summit' map set in China and a 3v3 'Retake' game mode. The update also includes the Blackspyre cosmetic collection and a new Battlepass, available on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5.