Wild Rift’s esports plans have been a pretty hot topic lately. League of Legends has had a popular esports series for years, and Valorants’ is just starting to get its feet wet. But what about the mobile version of League, Wild Rift? Leo Faria, the head of Wild Rift esports, recently released a blog co-authored by Savannah Ho. In it, they share their vision and plans for Wild Rift esports. While there’s no official timeline laid out, we at least know that it’s on their mind, and they’re “going all-in on Wild Rift esports.” Now that’s something to be excited about. What did Riot Games have to say?
A New Esports Ecosystem Independent of LoL on PC
We’ve been waiting on Wild Rift esports, that’s for sure. Teams have been picking up teams in preparation for an esports scene to boot. According to Activeplayer.io, the last 30 days have seen 6.3 million average monthly players and 285k players in a day (peak). As of this writing, there were 41k players actively playing. So it’s not like it’s an unpopular game. When people play competitive online games, mobile or otherwise, one of the things people think about is that they could be pros. One of the goals is to climb and get as good as possible. The esports dream is never really gone.
Riot Games said the Wild Rift players are just as important to them as the League of Legends PC players. However, they made it clear that it will not be a copy of the LoL PC esports system. “We’re building a new esports ecosystem that is self-sustaining and independent of LoL Esports on PC. There is a lot to learn and leverage from the broader League of Legends ecosystem, but Wild Rift esports is not viewed here at Riot Games as a gateway to 토토사이트 LoL Esports. Being the Wild Rift World Champion should feel just as amazing and prestigious as being the LoL World Champion. Winning in Wild Rift is the ultimate goal.”
I’m very glad that it’s not being viewed as a way into the LoL PC esports scene, but the players are treated on their own merits in Wild Rift. The goal for Wild Rift, esports plans or otherwise, is to make it the first truly global mobile esport. There are huge mobile esports all over the world, but none of them are truly global names. Maybe PUBG Mobile, but that’s the closest. As far as the mobile MOBAs go, the big ones are top contenders in SE Asia but barely known here in NA. Wild Rift aims to be the biggest and best around the world.
Riot understands that the orgs and players need trust that the game will stick around and have stability. That way, it’s worth building teams and investing in players. Sustainability is a serious part of the plan, so being a pro player is an attractive prospect. The plan is to put effort into grassroots content to make sure people can grow in the community. But first, the need is great to have a base to start with simply. Another plan is to focus on making esports easier to watch on a mobile device. Mobile esports isn’t optimized for smaller screens, and that has to change. If mobile esports are the future, the gameplay and the viewer experience have to be important.
We’re glad that Riot Games is putting it out there to have plans for Wild Rift’s esports. We don’t have any particular timeline or roadmap yet, but we’re sure that’s to come. It sounds like we need to be patient right now and let Riot Games put their plans together. It is great news that there will be an esports scene. Wild Rift is still growing, and with teams investing in it, it would be a shame if Riot said, “Sorry, no esports.” As the plans come to light, we’ll be sure to share them with you.
