Riot Games confirms League of Legends MMO is still in development

Riot Games co-founder Marc Merrill has confirmed that the studio’s highly anticipated MMORPG set in the League of Legends universe remains in active development. Speaking at PAX West 2026, Merrill described the project as the studio’s ‘Grail,’ a metaphor reflecting both its immense ambition and the significant risks involved in creating a successful large-scale online role-playing game.

Merrill acknowledged the difficulty of the task, noting that while many ‘brave knights’ may fail in such a quest, the team is committed to the challenge. He expressed confidence in the project’s future, stating that the team is working to meet the high expectations and dreams of the player community.

The project has faced several hurdles since its initial announcement in 2020, including leadership changes and a complete reset of its development direction in 2024. Despite these shifts, Riot continues to hire industry veterans from titles like World of Warcraft to bolster the team.

These comments come amid skepticism from some fans following Riot’s recent decision to end active development on its fighting game, 2XKO, due to insufficient player numbers. While no official title, release date, or gameplay footage has been released, Merrill emphasized that the studio is making reasonable progress.