After a long period of silence, Riot’s League of Legends MMO has stirred again.
It looks like the League of Legends MMORPG project is still alive. Riot Games’ long-running project small but notable signs of life, with the studio adding a former World of Warcraft lead producer to its MMO development team.
The project, first revealed more than five years ago, has remained largely out of sight, following a major internal reset and the departure of its original leadership. While Riot has repeatedly stressed that the MMO is still in development, concrete updates have been rare. This latest hire proves that work is continuing behind the scenes.
A familiar World of Warcraft name joins Riot’s MMO effort
Raymond Bartos, previously a lead producer on World of Warcraft, confirmed via LinkedIn that he has joined Riot Games’ MMO team. In his post, Bartos said Riot’s culture stood out to him immediately during the hiring process.
“From my very first conversation with Riot, I immediately gravitated toward their values–and I was genuinely impressed by how clearly those values showed up throughout the interview process,” Bartos wrote. “It made it obvious that kindness, respect, and care aren’t just words here, but something the team truly lives by.”
He added that he was “deeply grateful for the opportunity” and said he was looking forward to helping “deliver an MMO experience players truly enjoy.”
Bartos also revealed he will be working alongside Orlando Salvatore, a former World of Warcraft lead software engineer who moved from Blizzard to Riot in October 2024. The two previously worked together on WoW, something Bartos hinted could help them hit the ground running.
“I’ll be re-queuing with my longtime duo partner, Orlando Salvatore,” he said. “Given our track record on World of Warcraft, I have a feeling we’ll be moving fast on day one.”
That comment may raise eyebrows among fans who have been waiting years for tangible progress, especially given Riot’s history of caution around the MMO.
The League of Legends MMO is still a long way off
Despite the encouraging hire, Riot’s MMORPG remains firmly in the “wait and see” category. Development was officially reset in 2023, following the departure of Greg Street, the former Riot VP who originally announced the project. Since then, updates have been limited to reassurances that the game is still happening.
The most recent indication of timing came in early 2025, when Riot Games co-founder jokingly suggested the MMO would arrive “hopefully before we go to Mars”, which is hardly a firm release window.
On top of that, in 2025, Riot hired Diablo IV veteran Adam Jackson for an unannounced Riot Games title, which many fans believed was the MMORPG.
With barely any breadcrumbs for fans to follow on the upcoming MMO's development for many years now, small movements like this will be closely watched by those waiting to see what a League of Legends MMORPG might eventually become.
