Riot Games is synonymous with League of Legends, an online MOBA that was released in 2009 and is still an internet sensation. It took lead in the MOBA market even after DOTA 2 released 4 years later. Some new trademark filings by Riot Games show interest in a game called Legends of Runeterra. What this game could be is a big mystery.
A reddit thread recently indicated that Riot Games has put in a lot of trademark work over a new name called ‘Legends of Runeterra’. Curiously Runeterra is also the name of the game world where League of Legends takes place, so we know that this game is going to be related to the main IP.
Is Legends of Runeterra the next big IP?
The main Reddit thread talks about the trademark being filed for:
Electrical and scientific apparatus
paper goods and printed matter
Given the plethora of items being related to broadcasting and merchandising, it seems that Riot Games is looking to capitalize on their brand position with League of Legends to catapult a new IP. The most popular guess here is that Riot Games could go into Collectible Card Game. Blizzard has seen massive success in this venture with Hearthstone which incorporates the Warcraft characters in a comical way in the game’s universe.
Hearthstone has plenty of tournaments every year and has a very active presence on Twitch and other major platforms. The game is a huge hit but is also highly criticized for being heavy on the wallet. It has been stated that players need to spend as much as $400 on the game every year just to maintain their position in the meta and I can vouch for that number.
With such a good opportunity, Riot Games is definitely looking to enter the broader water of eSports. After making a highly successful MOBA, perhaps the next move for them is to move on to the market of online card games? Will they be able to go against Blizzard? Let’s wait and see what the game is.
Let us know what your thoughts on the new listing are in the comments section below.