Riot Games reportedly cancelled plans for a Smash Bros. style fighter
Executives were put off by the performance of MultiVersus, it’s claimed
Riot Games has reportedly cancelled plans to release a Super Smash Bros. style fighter codenamed Pool Party.
According to journalist Mikhail Klimentov, the platform fighter would have been set in the League of Legends universe and a prototype was being worked on by approximately 70-80 developers at the time of its cancellation.
It’s claimed that Riot executives were no longer convinced there was sufficient consumer appetite for a Smash Bros. rival, a decision reportedly informed by the performance of Warner’s free-to-play crossover fighter MultiVersus.
Pool Party was originally pitched as a hardcore fighting game, although it’s said to have evolved to include party game elements and casual mechanics prior to its cancellation.
“We always have a number of projects in various phases of R&D, and spinning projects up and down happens multiple times a year,” Riot senior comms director Joe Hixson said in a statement.
Around half of the team that were working on the game have reportedly been offered the chance be reassigned within the studio, while most others are said to be considering applying for internal roles.
Riot announced in February that another League of Legends fighting game, previously referred to as Project L, is officially titled 2XKO.
The studio also said it was targeting a 2025 launch window for the 2v2 tag-based fighter on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
Further reading
Riot has ‘reset’ its League of Legends MMO and will be ‘going dark for a long time’
More recently, Riot announced plans to release tactical multiplayer FPS Valorant for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Players can register now to participate in closed beta testing ahead of the game’s console release this year.
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