By Sagar V. Mankar Riot Games, developer of League of Legends, was reportedly working on an exciting new project codenamed “Pool Party.”
This platform fighter was said to be heavily inspired by the legendary Super Smash Bros. Melee and set within the vibrant world of League of Legends.
However, recent reports by The Washington Post suggest that Riot has decided to cancel the project.
According to reports the project was well underway, with 70-80 employees working on it before development halted in late May 2024.
The game was part of Riot’s efforts to expand its League of Legends universe and make it more accessible to casual gamers.
Netflix animated series Arcane and the upcoming fighting game 2XKO are part of this strategy and Pool Party would have joined them but this happened.
Why Did Riot Games Cancel “Pool Party”?
While we can’t know all the internal factors, reports suggested a few reasons:
- Executives at Riot reportedly viewed the relaunch of MultiVersus (another platform fighter) as unsuccessful, potentially souring their outlook on the genre.
- With Riot already developing 2XKO (formerly Project L), a 2v2 fighting game set in the League of Legends universe, they may have wanted to avoid competing with themselves.
- Earlier this year, Riot Games laid off over 500 employees to cut costs. This cancellation could be part of a broader strategy to streamline their project pipeline.
Joe Hixson, Riot’s senior communications director, stated that project cancellations are part of their regular evaluation process and several projects are underway.
Despite Pool Party’s cancellation, fighting game fans can look forward to 2XKO, featuring LoL characters in a 2v2 format, set for release in 2025.
Moreover, this cancellation joins a long list of other high-profile games that never see the light of day.
Recently we heard the developer at Rockstar Games talking about how the GTA 5 Story DLC Agent Trevor got canceled due to GTA Online’s “Cash Cow” success.
Insomniac also canceled their ambitious Spiderman multiplayer game, codenamed “Spider-Man: The Great Web,” which was intended to expand the Spider-Verse like Riot’s plans for LOL.
Additionally, Paradox Interactive recently canceled its open-world life simulation game, “Life by You,” after a decade of development.
On the mobile front, Supercell, the renowned Finnish game studio behind hits like Clash of Clans and Brawl Stars, also ended the development of Clash Mini.
Call of Duty also failed to expand its universe with codenamed “Project Zed,” a Gladiator-style Battle game showcasing the beloved Zombies mode in a new style.