The big return of Arena in League of Legends has gone “very, very well” in Riot Games’ books, but it still won’t be enough to keep it around permanently, especially as other limited-time modes enjoy similar success.
League Arena has had an extended run after its sophomore launch, with Riot testing bucketloads of changes, balance tweaks, and new maps for the two-vs-two-vs-two-vs-two mode. The response has been uproarious, with many demanding the gladiator mode now stick around permanently alongside the long-standing Summoner’s Rift and Howling Abyss playlists—but that’s unlikely, Riot says.
“Arena WILL be turned off at the end of Split Two,” League’s modes lead Eduardo Cortejoso confirmed today, with the stance surprising some eager players who had expected otherwise. “Arena will not be left on permanently.”
That’s not to say Arena has failed any of its metrics in-house, the Riot modes developer explained, but instead, the League team just has to stick to their guns and shelve the limited-time mode as originally planned.
“A lot goes into the decision to support a mode permanently,” Cortejoso continued, pointing to how much is already in the works. Just recently, Riot declared it would now be doubling down on more modes and still wants to prop up both League Arena and the very newly-launched Swarm; another playlist that exploded in popularity.
Because of all these big bubbling plans, Riot simply cannot invest the research and development time it would take to twist Arena into a version that could then sit in the League client and run itself long-term. On that, Cortejoso explained: “We always have to evaluate where to best invest our time.” Right now, especially because Swarm and its totally new went designs went so well, that investment won’t be in Arena.
Arena will now go back into the modes cooking pot at the Riot offices before it (at some stage in the future) emerges for its trilogy run. Whether that would come alongside permanency or not is simply unclear today.
“I can’t share a more definitive answer at this point in time,” the League modes boss concluded, “and I know it’s a bit tiring to hear, but I can say we’ll be continuing to re-invest in this space and bring exciting updates for some of Arena’s biggest fans as well as others looking for novel experiences in League.”
Riot has also promised further Arena updates in a scheduled State of Modes video later this year, so we’ll keep our eyes peeled for that—it could hold a brighter glimmer of hope.
For the time being, League Arena is still live in the client too. The doors are expected to close on the playlist’s second run on Tuesday, Sept. 10, around 6pm PT.
