League of Legends was one of the first standalone titles of the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) genre, originally hitting the late 2000s scene hot on the tail of a modded Warcraft III map called Defense of the Ancients.
League, which is still going very strong today, helped pave the way for other games in the genre such as Smite, Dota 2, and Heroes of the Storm.
League of Legends release date
League, one of the most well-known and historic games of the 21st century, was originally released on Oct. 27, 2009, on PC.
Riot’s flagship MOBA went live with a roster of 40 playable champions. Today, more than a decade into the game’s lifespan, there are 167 champs to choose from, with anywhere between four and five new characters released each year (on average right now).
League‘s impact has only grown since ’09
Since the title’s big 2009 release, League‘s global impact has only continued to build and build across competitive gaming and multiple new genres.
In 2011, Riot Games hosted the first esports season for League competitions. The first League World Championship lasted only three days and featured eight teams from three regions: North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia. A decade later, the League World Championship has become one of the world’s most prominent annual esports events. The month-long tournament attracts up to 24 teams from across the globe each fall, with over a dozen professional leagues around the world being represented at Worlds, and countless more competing in regional tournaments year-round.
League has inspired several spinoffs from Riot—most notably LoL Wild Rift, a mobile version released in 2020. League’s fantasy world of Runeterra has also served as the backdrop for an autobattler, Teamfight Tactics, as well as the Legends of Runeterra card game. Single-player RPGs have been inspired by the League world, too, including 2021’s Ruined King and 2023’s Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story.
There were as many as 180 million players engaged with gaming titles based in the League universe as of November 2021, according to Riot’s stats.
