Earlier this week Riot Games teased that a League of Legends project would be appearing at The Game Awards 2019. The studio didn't tease any further information about the game other than it wasn't developed in-house, but rather through a partner studio. That League of Legends project has now been revealed, as as the studio behind it. Battle Chasers: Nighwar developer Airship Syndicate is currently hard at work on Ruined King: A League of Legends Story.
The trailer shown for Ruined King was unfortunately not particularly revelatory, either in terms of story or gameplay. The trailer shows a burst of ghostly tendrils exploding out from what appears to be a Shadow Isles location and crossing the ocean to what's presumably the pirate city of Bilgewater. The one other notable and familiar aspect of League of Legends shown is the character Thresh being hinted as the one releasing the Ruined King, indicating that the king will pursue vengeance upon its release.
While Riot Games and Airship Syndicate may not be ready to give away too much about Ruined King just yet, League of Legends fans may be able to intuit some information. The Ruined King has been referred to in League of Legends' lore from time to time. They're believed to be from an era between the reight of Mordekaiser and the dawn of the Demacian empire. No one knows who the Ruined King is or what happened to their kingdom, but odds are that's exactly what the game will tell us.
Ruined King may be the first League of Legends game developed by a third-party studio, but it's also part of Riot's sudden expansion into more games beyond just League of Legends. This summer Riot also announced a new card game, an FPS, and an in-development MMO. Riot has a pressing interest in expanding not just the League of Legends universe, but into new universes as well.
Little other information about Ruined King has been shared, which is surprising given that no gameplay was actually shown as part of the announcement. On the game's official website Riot did confirm that Ruined King will be an RPG, but whether it'll be a top-down RPG with gameplay akin to League of Legends or something more traditional like Battle Chasers isn't clear. Perhaps the game is rather early in development. Expect more information on Ruined King as it's available.
Ruined King: A League of Legends Story is coming to PC and consoles.