League of Legends Wild Rift - Why is it a big deal?

Lo L Wild Rift
League of Legends Wild Rift will join the Google Play Store very soon. (Image credit: Riot Games)

League of Legends is making its way to mobile devices with Google, but why is this such a big deal in the gaming community?

League of Legends is something of an esports phenomenon, with the game now over a decade old, it's finally deciding to branch out and taste new areas of the gaming market. Riot Game's upcoming FPS Valorant is taking the industry by storm, a new card game, Legends of Runeterra is a hit, and now they're targeting the App market with League of Legends Wild Rift.

A decade in the making

Lo L Worlds 2012 Winners
2012 World's Finals winner, Taipei Assassins. (Image credit: Riot Games)

When I began playing League of Legends back in 2012, China was showing absolute domination, with professional team Taipei Assassins winning the World Championship Finals. Esports was growing, and so was the expectation of fans globally, to have League of Legends become one of the biggest esports games in the world.

Riot Games was beginning to offer fans more content, more updates, and patch notes. Things were becoming comprehensive, as feedback was taken and built upon, to make the game the global success it is today. Time went on, as it does, and as I got older, League of Legends was becoming slowly but surely harder to play. Typical games can last anywhere between 30 - 60mins plus, with some games going on well over an hour.

League of Legends was growing as I was. 2018 saw record numbers of people watching the World Championship Finals and questions slowly but surely were surfacing about the future of League's stability, as Riot Games was only known for making League of Legends and nothing else. Little did we know that Riot Games was planning something big, not just with League of Legends, but with a brand new game, Valorant, which is well on it's way to becoming just as popular as League of Legends and it's still in Beta.

Enter Wild Rift

League of Legends Renekton
Not as wild as Renekton though. (Image credit: Riot Games)

Within Riot Games' League of Legends 10th Anniversary Video, something caught my eye: League of Legends Wild Rift, a mobile game of League of Legends, for the mobile market. Of course, playing League of Legends for nearly a decade myself, I was naturally skeptical: "How can League of Legends even work on mobile? That's ridiculous".

As I watched on, I was slowly but surely becoming more and more excited. What caught my attention was the drastically reduced times it would need to take to play a game of League of Legends. Ever since then, League of Legends Wild Rift is something I have been looking forward to for the longest time. With the Beta expected very soon, you can expect first impressions, thoughts, and more from me.

Why is Wild Rift a big deal?

League of Legends Thresh
Thresh is a big deal, look how big he is. (Image credit: Riot Games)

League of Legends Wild Rift is specifically for people like myself, who might not have the time for a full League of Legends game all the time, but still want to play League of Legends. With friends who no longer have time for long games on PC, this mobile version of League of Legends solves all of this and more. I'm excited to play League of Legends on the go, meaning that a computer isn't needed to get the League of Legends content I want and need.

I fully expect League of Legends Wild Rift to be a massive success on the mobile market when it eventually releases on Google Play Store and Apple devices at a later date. I urge anyone who no longer has the time to play PC League of Legends, to sign up for the pre-registration for Wild Rift, I can honestly say you won't regret it.

For more League of Legends Wild Rift or League of Legends, keep it here with EarlyGame.

Sam Batty
Sam Batty