The project would have been in the style of Super Smash Bros. in the League of Legends universe.
Riot Games, the studio behind League of Legends and Valorant, has spent the last several months ramping up promotion for its upcoming 2D fighter, 2XKO. However, it looks like the tag fighter wasn’t the only fighting game in the works at the studio. According to a new report, Riot Games was working on a platform fighter similar to Super Smash Bros., but canceled it back in May.
Word of a canceled platform fighter at Riot Games comes from ReaderGrev, a newsletter written by Mikhail Klimentov. The game, called Pool Party, would have been set in the League of Legends universe. Like other platform fighters, gameplay would focus on players accumulating damage knocking each other off stage instead of depleting a health bar.
Source: Riot Games
“We always have a number of projects in various phases of R&D, and spinning projects up and down happens multiple times a year,” said Joe Hixson, senior communications manager, in a statement to Klimentov. The report also claims that the unexpected delisting of the MultiVersus beta last year led leadership at Riot Games to reconsider the audience’s desire for another Smash-like.
We’ll never get to play Pool Party, but it’s interesting to know that Riot Games was at one point looking to contend in the platform fighter space. Right now, the FGC is fully focused on 2XKO, which is set for a proper launch in 2025. Earlier this week, Braum was revealed as its newest fighter.
Donovan is a young journalist from Maryland, who likes to game. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge Scream nerd and film fanatic that will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_
