LoL MMO’s future uncertain after Executive Producer Greg Street steps down

Riot Games’ upcoming MMO set in Runeterra, the League of Legends universe, is a game we’ve heard very little about since its development was announced. Now Executive Producer Greg Street has announced he is stepping down from his role in the upcoming game.

League of Legends has been around for a long time in terms of modern competitive games. It’s among the few multiplayer titles that have survived longer than a decade and it’s older than most ongoing multiplayer games.

Greg Street, AKA Ghostcrawler, has been with Riot Games since 2014 and had years’ worth of experience working on World of Warcraft beforehand, making him a great fit for spearheading the production of Riot’s attempt at creating an MMO.

However, Street has announced that he’s departing Riot Games after being with the company for almost 10 years. It’s yet unknown how this will affect the Runeterra MMO which is still in “early development” according to Marc Merrill, one of Riot Games’ co-founders.

Greg Street steps down as Executive Producer for LoL MMO

League of Legends has an expansive universe behind it, one whose surface barely gets scratched by the very game that spawned it. There are so many regions and characters within it that players have been begging to see more of. However, with over 160 champions in League of Legends already, it’s getting harder to see new glimpses into the universe.

At least, that’s how it was up until a few years ago. Riot Forge was founded to give other development teams a shot at telling new stories within the universe. Ruined King: A League of Legends Story showed us what that could look like in the form of a game, and Arcane showed us what that could look like in the form of an award-winning TV show – and there’s more to come from the universe.

Among other projects, Riot is thinking big with an MMO taking place in Runeterra. It was announced years ago, but without many updates up until this point. We now know that Greg Street, Executive Producer on the project and a longtime Riot employee, has stepped down.

A combo of personal and professional considerations led me to down this path. We experienced some devastating personal losses last year and I want to be closer to my surviving family.

— Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) March 7, 2023

Greg Street cited a desire to be closer to his family mixed with his feeling like it was “time for something new” as the main reasons for his departure, and claimed that the game is “in good hands”.

Marc Merrill followed up on this announcement with a little more news about the state of the LoL MMO and how development is going, where he revealed that the title is still in “early development”.

First, we are still in early development, but have a direction that we’re very excited about. We’re working hard to deliver an experience that you’ll love. (But it will still be a VERY long road to get there – thanks for being patient with us.) [2/4]

— Tryndamere (@MarcMerrill) March 7, 2023

From the sound of his tweets, this game isn’t going to see the light of day any time soon. However, he didn’t seem deterred by the change in management.

“We believe in this game and the team working on it. If we look at development as a race, Greg has run an amazing first leg with an incredible team, and I know whoever takes the baton next will be set up for success going forward.”

All that said, very little is known about the League of Legends MMO. We’ll keep you updated on the latest information about the game as it comes to light.