Still in development under American publisher Riot Games, the MMO based on the League of Legends universe is losing its inspiration Greg “Ghostcrawler”Street, who decided to create an independent studio specializing in massively multiplayer online role-playing games.
Last March, Greg “Ghostcrawler”Street left Riot Games for personal and professional reasons after contributing to the success of League of Legends. Having run the long-awaited MMO in the League of Legends universe for several years now, he doesn’t worry about its future:
I said from the start that making a League of Legends MMO worthy of all of you will be a long journey. The most important work I could do in this was to build a great team, and although I try to be humble, I will brag about this team for the rest of my life. The MMO is in safe hands and now is the time to hand over the reins for the next phase.
League of Legends MMO producer leaves Riot Games https://t.co/SQZBpRtJUm
— Eurogamer (@eurogamer) March 8, 2023
Mark Merrill, co-founder of Riot Games, also reacted to the departure of a man nicknamed Ghostcrawler:
Recently, Ghostcrawler announced that after nine years at Riot Games, he is retiring to focus on what matters most… his family. Thanks again for everything, Greg. I’d like to take a second to talk about what this means for MMOs… We’re only at the beginning of the project, but we’re very excited about the direction we’re taking. We work hard to give you an experience you enjoy (but it’s still a VERY long way to go – please be patient with us). We believe in this game and the team behind it. Thinking of development as a race, Greg made a great first step with an incredible team, and I know that whoever takes over will have every chance of succeeding in the future. While waiting, we are looking for the best and smartest of you who LOVE MMOs. If you ever dreamed of helping create what,
Greg “Ghostcrawler”Street announces his own video game studio
The former World of Warcraft lead systems designer at Blizzard Entertainment still wants to make games and especially MMOs:
After fifteen years in California, I am returning to Texas to be closer to my family, who still have a bright future ahead of them. It may seem that I am leaving the gaming industry, but this is far from the case. The last few years have made me think a lot about my future and what I want to achieve. They made me think about what kind of games I want to make and what stages of my career will be decisive. I want to make games that I’m really passionate about and that players will enjoy. They also made me think about the effectiveness of remote work and how it can help me be closer to my family. That’s why I’m very excited to announce that I’m launching my own independent remote studio. Our goal is to go fast and do it big. Luckily I found a great strategic partner who shares this vision, and we are moving forward. And yes, it will be an MMO or something close to it.
He also adds:
We are not yet ready to reveal the name of the new studio or the details of the game. The purpose of this message is rather to tell you that we are always looking for a few elite people to complete our adventurer team. Later we will be hiring less experienced (and yes, some inexperienced) developers, but for now we are looking for leaders with solid experience in the industry. Reach out to me on Twitter or LinkedIn if you’re one of them. If you know me, I value trust, empathy and open communication, and this applies to both the development team and the players. More importantly, it is the players who will be the judge of whether we win or lose. Things will be quiet for a while while the adventure team prepares, but we plan to share what we’re working on very early and very often. We want you to be delighted heard your feedback and gave you the opportunity to correct our mistakes. For me, this is the only way to make good games.