Some time ago, Riot Games expressed its intentions to branch League of Legends out, creating more games taking place in its world of Runeterra. Of course, this isn't to say that Riot hasn't already done that to a certain degree, but with the release of Arcane and its crossovers into games like Among Us, it's clear Riot is now following through with that intention in a big way.
That's even more true now, as Riot is keeping the momentum going with new League of Legends spinoff titles. One of these was announced way back when the concept was still being heavily discussed: Ruined King: A League of Legends Story, a theoretical major step for Riot Games into other genres. As of today, the game is no longer theoretical.
Ruined King: A League of Legends Story is out right now. With very little fanfare save for some tweets, Riot Forge announced that Ruined King is officially available for purchase on multiple storefronts, from Nintendo Switch to Steam and the Epic Games Store. Many players thought that the soonest players could expect a full single-player experience in Runeterra was the upcoming Hextech Mayhem, but that's certainly not the case anymore.
While it seems there was some initial trouble getting the game on to all of the storefronts, those issues are apparently cleared up now. As of this article, the game is fully purchasable wherever players care to get it, except on mobile. Perhaps Epic adding multiple Riot titles to its store could have been seen as a prelude to this, but only by the most farsighted players. The game itself is a turn-based RPG with mechanics for altering turn order, where players take control of a group of League of Legends champions to bring down Viego, the Ruined King.
Lore hounds for League of Legends will no doubt have a lot to unpack with this game, as it brings multiple champions together outside of the static League setting. It also interacts with Viego, whose story was largely wrapped up in the Ruination event, so who's to say how it will be expanded or rehashed in Ruined King. Perhaps some of the hidden stories in Legends of Runeterra's cards will even come into play.
Ruined King's reception at this point is critical for Riot's future endeavors. Arcane and its Riot event have been well received so far, and if the same is true for Ruined King, it could mean Riot and its Forge program blossoming into a lot of different genres through Runeterra. Conversely, if Ruined King is bad, it could spell death for future Riot risktaking. All of Runeterra and many players now hold their breath as they determine the game's worth.
Ruined King: A League of Legends Story is out right now for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.