On Mar. 7, 2023, Greg “Ghostcrawler” Street announced his exit from Riot Games after nine years with the video game publisher, as well as his departure from the ongoing MMO project at the company.
Street is a widely known name in the video game industry, first making his mark as a system designer for World of Warcraft. In November 2013, Street left his longtime position at Blizzard to become the lead game design and later head of creative development at Riot Games. During his nine year tenure at Riot Games, Street worked on projects such as K/DA, Arcane, Realms of Runeterra, and more.
Potentially the project Street was most widely known for at Riot was the League of Legends-based MMO project that is still in developmen. Coming from an MMO background, Street quickly became a figure head of the Runeterra-set MMO.
After several years on Riot’s MMO project, Street announced that he left his position at Riot Games. Street stated that he made this decision due to personal losses that made him want to be closer with his family and other “professional considerations.” Though departing from Riot’s seemingly expansive MMO endeavor, Street maintained that he will stay in the video game development space, already being given several future prospects.
For Riot fans and MMO hopefuls, Street’s departure has left questions about the project’s development in its wake. Here is everything we know about the League of Legends MMO after Street’s decision.
What does Ghostcrawler’s exit mean for Riot’s MMO?
During his departure announcement, Street assured fans that they should not be worried about the quality of the developing project.
“The MMO is in good hands and it’s the right time to hand over the reigns for the next phase,” Street wrote. “I will be with you all playing the Riot MMO when it comes out.” Though no longer affiliated with the project, Street remains hopeful in the team to carry out development.
Riot co-fouinder Marc “Tryndamere” Merrill made a public statement on the status of the Riot MMO shortly after Street’s initial thread. Merrill began by thanking Street for his work at the company and similarly assured fans that the project is still heading in an exciting direction.
Merrill also emphasized that the Riot MMO is still in its early phases and that “it will still be a VERY long road to get there – thanks for being patient with us.” Echoing Street’s sentiment, Merrill stated that development has entered a new phase with the departure of the upcoming title’s executive producer, stating that “Greg has run an amazing first leg with an incredible team.”
For future players, Merrill and Street’s threads can only tell us that the final product is likely still several years away, but that leadership remains confident in the direction of the Riot MMO despite Street’s departure.
