League of Legends might make its way to Android and iOS devices in the near future.
Riot Games and its parent company Tencent are reportedly working together to bring the multiplayer online battle arena to the mobile platform.
League Of Legends Mobile?
Citing "three sources with knowledge of the matter," Reuters says in an exclusive report that the companies have been developing a mobile version of League of Legends for more than one year, as one of the sources pointed out. However, it isn't expected to launch in 2019, another source said. In other words, a 2020 release date is possibly the earliest fans can hope for, but it's not set in stone.
According to the report, Riot Games and Tencent haven't been on the same page regarding how to make the most out of the MOBA. One of the sources said that the former turned down a proposition from the latter about developing a mobile version of the game a couple of years ago.
After the rejection, Tencent made its own mobile game that's similar to League of Legends called Honor of Kings back in November 2015 in China and eventually became the highest-grossing MOBA.
As a result, the relationship between the two became strained and even more so when Tencent brought Honor of Kings to the West as Arena of Valor in 2016 and 2017. While the mobile game was popular in China, it couldn't garner the same attention in the Western market, though.
From The PC To The Mobile
One developer after another has been bringing their games to the mobile platform for some time now. Notable examples include Epic Games' Fortnite and PUBG Corporation's PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, to name two.
If Riot Games and Tencent do go through with a mobile version of League of Legends, then they would be able to significantly expand their reach in the gaming scene in Asia, where the mobile platform is proving to be more popular than consoles and PC.
The pair's mobile offerings are similar in terms of gameplay and design, but League of Legends is the most popular and recognizable name among the three.
