Riot Games, the renowned team behind League of Legends, recently made headlines with the cancellation of their unannounced Super Smash Bros. Melee-inspired project set in the League of Legends universe. This project, codenamed ‘Pool Party’, was reportedly axed in late May, leaving many fans wondering what could have been.
According to journalist Mikhail Klimentov’s report, Riot Games saw an opportunity to build and support the game’s esports scene, something that Nintendo has not fully capitalized on with the Smash series. However, after a reassessment of consumer appetite for a Smash competitor and the failure of MultiVersus, Riot executives became hesitant and decided to pull the plug on ‘Pool Party’.
With approximately 70-80 employees working on the project, Riot Games had invested a significant amount of resources into developing their brawler. However, with the cancellation of ‘Pool Party’, half of the team members have been reassigned to other projects within the company, while some are in the process of applying for new positions internally.
Despite the setback of ‘Pool Party’, Riot Games is still moving forward with their new fighter project, 2XKO (formerly known as Project L). This more traditional fighting game is scheduled to launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC in 2025, showing that Riot Games is not giving up on the fighting game genre entirely.
The cancellation of Riot Games’ Melee-inspired project raises the question of whether any developer outside of Nintendo will ever be able to match the quality and success of the Super Smash Bros. series. With Riot Games’ failed attempt and other companies struggling to create a brawler that resonates with audiences, it seems that Nintendo’s dominance in the genre will remain unchallenged for the foreseeable future.
Riot Games’ decision to cancel ‘Pool Party’ is a missed opportunity for both the company and fans of the League of Legends universe. While the project may have held promise for a new esports scene and community, the failure to assess consumer interest accurately led to its downfall. With ‘Project L’ still in development, there is hope for Riot Games to make a mark in the fighting game genre, but only time will tell if they can truly compete with the likes of Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. series.
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