Why Riot removes League’s popular new game modes

Riot Games debuted new modes of play in League of LegendsTwisted Treeline is one of the many games that have been released over time: Ascension: Invasion. Odyssey: Invasion. Black Market Brawlers. Nexus Blitz. A rare few have returned — or, like Teamfight TacticsIt was able to make a break and be a part of the League client. It begs the question: Why spend so much time creating game modes that won’t stick around?

Riot released a new 2v2v2v2 mode this summer: Arena. Teams face each other in frantic, 2v2 battles. Each round, the players receive wild enhancements to change their style of play. Chauffeur, for instance, permanently links you to your ally — you go where they go, and you get some buffs for the trouble. The final team standing is the victorious one. Riot removed Arena from the game menu for a short time in December. But that was intentional — and it’s a part of Riot’s greater strategy.

“In the past, modes have been measured by hitting a certain number of game hours, or a certain number of purchases per account,” says Eduardo Cortejoso, a game producer at Riot Games, in a call with Polygon. “With Arena, especially how League was going through a rough patch at the earlier part of the year, we really wanted to use this as an opportunity where our goal was to rebuild player trust.”

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Arena was a part of Riot’s larger mea-culpa following the release of Riot’s disappointing 2023 cinematic. Fans claimed that the game had stagnated and was boring. League’s lore was falling by the wayside. Later in January, we learned of the new mode.

Riot’s developers have either moved onto other Riot teams or to work on previous modes. Teamfight Tactics. Arena was no exception. LeagueTeam wanted to create something they could launch and build on in future iterations.

“League is at its best when it’s paired moments of being on a team competing against someone else, or having a moment You can also find out more about someone else,” says Cortejoso. “So we knew that we didn’t want to do a solo-oriented experience; we wanted to maintain the team aspect.” After testing with different combos, the team settled on 2v2. “It’s the minimum amount of people you need to feel like it’s a team-oriented game, while reducing the barrier to reach what we believe is the high point of League gameplay, when everyone’s on the same page and you can coordinate your efforts.”

Arena’s core formula was solid and well-received by the fans. Yet, after the mode’s initial run, it too vanished from the client. The good news is that Arena disappearing doesn’t mean it’s gone for good; both Nexus Blitz and Arena are slated for a return. The next Arena will be an evolution of the formula, with some tweaks and new twists — like new augments for players to experiment with.

Arena is also a change in how Riot views temporary modes. In the past, they’ve either been twists on the typical PvP match, like One for All or Hexakill. Arena changes the format even more. “We’re refocusing our efforts a little bit for modes on trying to explore some of the more underserved audiences or unmet expectations or motivations,” says Cortejoso. “This is why you’re seeing something like Arena where we are explicitly targeting something that has a shorter time frame and is much more randomized through the augment system.”

While Cortejoso acknowledges this is a riskier approach that will serve fewer players, Riot hopes that it’ll lead to a better bounty of varied player experiences. “We do expect to actually keep things a little bit on the lighter side from a development angle and do a lot of learning in the next few years,” he says. “So expect more of that out of the League of Legends team, with modes in particular.”