I find myself ruminating more and more about the statements made by Riot Games’ Mark Merrill regarding the in-development MMORPG that his studio has been working on for a worryingly long time. My initial reaction was to roll my eyes at more c-suite bluster from the guy whose companyflubbed a fighting game, but then I also have to appreciate the gumption and the “heck it, we ball” attitude that seems to be missing from a lot of attempts at new games in our genre.
I’m curious what our writers and readers think about this. Let’s put aside all of the problems with finding funding from risk-averse leeches that the industry as a whole is dealing with: Do you think that it’s worthwhile approaching creation of a new MMO as some grand quest? Is it really that big of a “grail” to find? Is this the right attitude to even have to begin with, or is it just setting yourself up for failure and disappointment?
Brianna Royce (@nbrianna.bsky.social, blog): I do think it’s a grail quest of a sort. The handful of studios fixated on making the next World of Warcraft to define a whole generation aren’t just trying to remake a game or revive an older style of MMO; they are trying to create something that goes viral with both a baked in older playerbase and a new younger playerbase that has been societally trained out of the kind of content MMOs generally do. It has to be the same but also different! And that’s not easy or cheap, else someone else would’ve pulled it off already; Koster laid out the template and the ambition, but that doesn’t get far without money.
Merrill has the apparent obsession as well as (presumably) the money to keep spending throwing things at a wall. Will I like it? Who knows, but I’m always happy somebody is still willing to try.
Carlo Lacsina(@UltraMudkipEX, YouTube, Twitch): Considering how I’ve voted the untitled Riot MMO as my most anticipated MMO over the last 4 something years, I think its a worthwhile venture. Riot has a atrong IP through LoL and it should get the mmo treatment.
Who knows, maybe theyre really trying to find ways to innovate and even though video games change much after they’re revealed, the first impression still matters! No matter what, it needs to be good!
Chris Neal (@wolfyseyes.bsky.social, blog): Even after all of this time chewing on the question, I still find myself unable to really tie down an answer (the great answers from my colleagues certainly didn’t help in that regard), but overall I think that I land more on the positive viewpoint when it comes to what’s being generally expressed by Merrill here.
Obviously MMO development is tough for a number of reasons, so trying to summarize that level of challenge in the way that has been done here makes a lot of sense. Even if it doesn’t really drill down into the reasons why it’s hard, it also really frames it well, which I have to assume is good for the team behind this Runeterra project, assuming they all share Merrill’s mindset. And while I still can’t shake the sensation of executive chest-thumping, I would prefer that someone have this kind of attitude about making a new MMO than being woefully or willfully ignorant.
Justin Olivetti (@Sypster, blog): For what it’s worth, yes, I think this is a good mindset to have from the get-go and an encouraging sign that Riot Games isn’t giving up on making its MMO. MMORPG creation is long, expensive, hard, and very risky. It’s not something that should be entered into frivolously (see: The Kickstarter Era) or without a strong assessment of whether or not you have the resources and willingness to pull it off.
But as the saying goes, if it’s something worth doing, it’s worth doing well. Swing big, swing hard, and if it all connects, then you’re enjoying long-term returns on your investment.
Sam Kash(@samkash@mastodon.social): I like the gumption and I’m hesitantly optimistic. Which is a lot coming from me. I’m well known as a grump and an all around hater. So hearing some bluster from someone who has at least the purse strings to take a challenge head on.
However with most things these people rarely have the spine to actually stick to their words and push forward. Only time will tell.
Tyler Edwards (blog): I find the “many a brave knight are going to die” comment worrying, particularly from a company with a history of mistreating its employees.
Every week, join the Massively OP staff for Massively Overthinking column, a multi-writer roundtable in which we discuss the MMO industry topics du jour – and then invite you to join the fray in the comments. Overthinking it is literally the whole point. Your turn!
