League Of Legends Is Reportedly Going Mobile, Courtesy Of Tencent

According to a recent report by Reuters, it seems Riot Games is teaming up with Chinese tech giant Tencent Games to make a mobile version of its hit MOBA game League of Legends.

A source with knowledge about this upcoming mobile title claims that even though it will still retain the look of the PC League of Legends, it will play differently. The gameplay is made specifically for the mobile platform, so it is not going to be a 1-to-1 port. There will potentially be fewer champions, and the items and rules will be different as well.

The Reuters report says that the game has been under development for over a year, but neither Riot nor Tencent has made any comment regarding the subject as of yet.

Tencent has owned Riot Games ever since 2015, but the relation between the two companies have long been strained over how to capitalize on League of Legends. The Chinese company allegedly wanted to make a mobile adaptation for the game years ago, but Riot ultimately refused, as it did not want to water down the experience to make it suitable for smartphones.

Tencent then launched a similar mobile game titled “Honour of Kings” for the Chinese market in November 2015. It went on to be a huge hit in China and has since become the highest grossing MOBA game in the world. However, by doing so, it caused tensions with Riot Games, which were only made worse when Tencent released the game for the international market under the name “Arena of Valor.” However, this attempt ended up being a flop as the game failed to capture the interest of Western players.

League of Legends is Riot’s sole product over its 13 years of existence, and although it is still massively popular at the moment, a well-received mobile title could further improve its dominance in the next few years if it is successful in big markets such as China.