Riot Games Cancels Smash Bros-Style Fighting Game After MultiVersus Setback

Riot Games, the studio behind League of Legends and Valorant, has canceled a planned platform fighting game. The game, inspired by Super Smash Bros Melee, was in development under the codename Pool Party. This decision came after the perceived flop of MultiVersus, another game in the genre.

According to journalist Mikhail Klimentov, 70-80 people were working on Pool Party when Riot decided to scrap the project in late May. Originally intended as a hardcore fighting game, it evolved into a more casual party game over its development.

Riot’s communications director, Joe Hixson, explained, “We always have a number of projects in various phases of R&D, and spinning projects up and down happens multiple times a year.” The company reportedly saw Pool Party as a way to strengthen the League of Legends esports scene. However, the unexpected struggles of MultiVersus influenced their decision. Despite MultiVersus attracting over 110,000 concurrent players on Steam at its relaunch, its player numbers quickly dwindled.

Another factor in canceling Pool Party was Riot’s other fighting game project, 2XKO, which has been in development and is expected to launch in 2025. Sources indicated that Pool Party had been in and out of development for years and wasn’t being seriously considered as an esport.

Riot has been exploring projects beyond League of Legends, such as Ruined King, Bandle Tale, and Legends of Runeterra. While these games have been well-received, they haven’t achieved major success. Earlier this year, Riot closed its Riot Forge publishing label to focus on fewer, high-impact projects.