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League of Legends: Wild Rift

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by A.WagnerC (talk | contribs) at 14:35, 25 April 2021 (→Reception: Replacing some edits from the previous editor). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Revision as of 14:35, 25 April 2021 by A.WagnerC (talk | contribs) (→Reception: Replacing some edits from the previous editor)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) An accepted version of this page, accepted on 25 April 2021, was based on this revision.Multiplayer online battle arena video game

Video game
League of Legends: Wild Rift
Developer(s)Riot Games
Publisher(s)Riot Games
Director(s)Christina Norman
Producer(s)
  • Michael Chow
  • Jonathan Chao
  • David Xu
  • Christina Wun
Designer(s)Brian Feeney
SeriesLeague of Legends
EngineUnity
Platform(s)Android, iOS
Genre(s)Multiplayer online battle arena
Mode(s)Multiplayer

League of Legends: Wild Rift (abbreviated LoL: WR or simply Wild Rift) is a multiplayer online battle arena mobile game developed and published by Riot Games for Android and iOS. The game is a modified version of the PC game League of Legends.

As in League of Legends, players control a character ("champion") with unique abilities and battle against a team of players or AI-controlled units, with the goal of destroying the opposing team's "Nexus". Each League of Legends: Wild Rift match is discrete, with all champions starting off relatively weak but increasing in strength by accumulating items and experience over the course of the game. The champions are influenced by a variety of genres, including high fantasy, steampunk, and Lovecraftian horror.

Gameplay

See also: League of Legends § Gameplay

League of Legends: Wild Rift is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game in the three-dimensional isometric perspective. Players compete in matches, lasting anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes on average. Teams work together to destroy a structure called the Nexus in the enemy team's base, bypassing a line of defensive structures called turrets.

History

After fully acquiring Riot Games in 2015, Tencent asked them to turn League of Legends into a mobile title. However, Riot declined and claimed that the game could not be replicated on smartphones. Tencent then created their own mobile MOBA, Honor of Kings (with its international adaptation known as Arena of Valor). The aforementioned games was then reportedly straining their business relationship, and the relationship between the two firms became further strained when Tencent used notable League of Legends players to promote Arena of Valor and its esports tournaments. Riot Games's complaints initiated a two-month marketing freeze for Arena of Valor and demands that that Riot Games would be given the option to review all marketing plans, including a veto for use of select celebrity gamers. Nonetheless, Riot Games implied that their relationship with Tencent is still strong, and the conflict between them and their games is only "a bump in the road".

Riot Games eventually acknowledged the potential of the mobile market for the MOBA genre, and agreed to develop a mobile title for League of Legends. Tencent then temporarily pulled marketing plans for Arena of Valor in Europe and North America in 2019, clearing room for Riot Games's announcement of League of Legends: Wild Rift a few months later.

League of Legends: Wild Rift was announced on October 15, 2019, on the 10th anniversary of League of Legends.

Release

League of Legends: Wild Rift was set to be released in 2020, with a limited alpha launch in Brazil and Philippines in June 2020.

On September 16, 2020, Wild Rift was released in closed beta in Southeast Asia via Google Play and Apple's TestFlight, with more regions to be added at a later date. On October 8, 2020, the closed beta returned, adding South Korea and Japan.

The regional open beta for Southeast Asia began on October 27, 2020. On December 7, 2020, the beta was expanded to include Vietnam, Oceania, and Taiwan. On December 10, 2020, the open beta was expanded ahead of schedule to include the Commonwealth of Independent States, Europe, Middle East, and Turkey.

For China, Wild Rift has received game approval from China's National Press and Publication Administration in early 2021. It will be released by Tencent.

The open beta launched in the Americas on March 28, 2021. Riot has yet to announce a launch date for Wild Rift's stable release.

The game became playable on March 30, 2021. In Brazil, the launch campaign (nicknamed "Wild Drift") premiered the Brazilian Drifter Diego Higa and the Brazilian YouTuber Nyvi Estephan.

Reception

Wild Rift was well-received by critics. On the aggregator website Metacritic, the IOS port received a 89 of 100 score based on 7 critic reviews. Cass Marshall, from Polygon, said Wild Rift provides "a great alternative for those intimidated by the PC version of League". Jordan Minor from PCMag gave Wild Rift 4 out of 5 stars and called it "a surprisingly capable mobile edition" of League of Legends. The editor praised the art style of the game and also its capacity to function on weak hardware devices. His criticisms was regarding touch controls, citing that it "don't always keep up with the action", as well as the limited amount of characters available at the beginning of the game.

The Washington Post's Shannon Liao wrote Wild Rift "seems to be injecting new life into a community that has grown pretty insular." The reviewer also said the game was "a much more beginner-friendly" than League of Legends, but felt that the tutorial could be more comprehensive. Andrew Webster, from The Verge, wrote that despite the complexity of League of Legends's gameplay, Wild Rift, in contrast, "does an excellent job of easing in new players by explaining the basics in simple terms". While the touchscreen controls were praised as "perfectly playable" and "intuitive", the virtual joystick utilized for movement was described as "serviceable, but like all virtual joysticks, it can be unresponsive at times".

Wild Rift's player base in the United States has reportedly been "way less toxic" than League of Legends's, which Liao and Steven Messner with PC Gamer attributed to the amount of effort required to type on a smartphone. Liao observed that despite rare occurrences of bickering she encountered "over taking a role someone else wanted", "Wild Rift seems to be injecting new life into a community that has grown pretty insular.

References

  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 2, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. RiotFeralPony (February 6, 2020). "I've been the design lead for about the last year and change. Michael Chow is the overall director / executive producer" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 10, 2020 – via Twitter.
  3. "/dev diary: May 2020 - Gameplay Reveal - League of Legends: Wild Rift". Archived from the original on May 29, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  4. Unity (February 25, 2020). "We are working with @riotgames to bring @PlayRuneterra and @wildrift to your favorite platforms! Want to be legendary? You can pre-register for the game today: http://playruneterra.com" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 5, 2020 – via Twitter.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "Tencent reportedly gives up on Arena of Valor". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on January 10, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  7. Mickunas, Aaron (August 13, 2018). "Riot's relationship with Tencent has reportedly been strained over declining profits and mobile games". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  8. Gamesforum (November 5, 2020). "League of Legends: Wild Rift enters the mobile MOBA arena". Gamesforum. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  9. Webster, Andrew (October 15, 2019). "League of Legends: Wild Rift is coming to mobile and console". The Verge. Archived from the original on October 16, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  10. "League of Legends Mobile release date WARNING ahead of LoL Wild Rift beta news". Express.co.uk. March 19, 2020. Archived from the original on April 1, 2020. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  11. Lumb, David (May 19, 2020). "League of Legends: Wild Rift is nearly ready for alpha testing – but invites are extremely limited". TechRadar. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  12. "LoL: Wild Rift - Regional Closed Beta". Riot Games. September 16, 2020. Archived from the original on September 25, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  13. "The Regional Closed Beta Returns!". Riot Games. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  14. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 17, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. "Wild Rift to get 3 new champions and 7 skins in upcoming update". Dot Esports. December 6, 2020. Archived from the original on December 7, 2020. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  16. Çakır, Gökhan (December 9, 2020). "League of Legends: Wild Rift has gone live early in Europe". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on December 9, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  17. "League of Legends: Wild Rift Receives Game Approval in China". The Esports Observer. February 9, 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  18. Goslin, Austen (March 9, 2021). "League of Legends: Wild Rift open beta comes to North America March 29". Polygon. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  19. "Wild Rift - Americas Server Launch". support-wildrift.riotgames.com. February 27, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. "League of Legends: Wild Rift - Apps on Google Play". play.google.com. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  21. "🏎️ Wild Drift! - @wildriftbr". www.instagram.com. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  22. "League of Legends: Wild Rift". Metacritic. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  23. Marshall, Cass (March 29, 2021). "Wild Rift finally lets me recommend League of Legends to my friends". Polygon. Archived from the original on March 30, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  24. ^ Minor, Jordan. "League of Legends: Wild Rift (for iOS) Review". PCMAG. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  25. ^ Liao, Shannon. "Review | 'League of Legends: Wild Rift' is 'League' Lite, targeted at new players". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on April 4, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  26. ^ Webster, Andrew (March 30, 2021). "League of Legends: Wild Rift makes one of the world's biggest games more accessible". The Verge. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  27. ^ Messner, Steven. "League of Legends: Wild Rift is a kinder, gentler League of Legends". PC Gamer. Retrieved April 25, 2021.

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