Riot Games, the developer behind League of Legends, has teased the release of “Rune Battleground”, a physical trading card game, as revealed through a video posted on the Chinese social media platform, Bilibili
This new “Rune Battleground” project has sparked excitement among fans, especially since Riot Games has come a long way from its early days. What began as a single MOBA game has since evolved into a vast portfolio of successful titles, each spanning different genres and contributing to the company’s immense growth.
It seems Riot is ready to expand into the trading card game (TCG) market as well. The video, showcased on Bilibili, has set the stage for what appears to be a real-life TCG for League of Legends players.
According to well-known leaker Big Bad Bear, this new TCG will be called Rune Battleground. The video teaser shows several iconic symbols from the League of Legends universe, which then transform into well-known champions from the game, before ultimately converging into a card held by a player.
The trailer featured popular League of Legends champions such as Darius, Ahri, and Miss Fortune, indicating that these characters are likely to be included in the starter pack of the upcoming card game.
Fans of the franchise will recognize Darius from several other Riot projects, including the digital card game Legends of Runeterra and the upcoming fighting game, 2XKO. The appearance of these champions in the teaser has only fueled excitement for Rune Battleground.
However, there was some disappointing news for global fans. Riot Games has confirmed that Rune Battleground will not be launching worldwide—at least not anytime soon.
Joe Hixson, Riot’s lead communications officer, announced that the new trading card game is currently only slated for release in China. Unfortunately, this means that fans outside of China will have to wait indefinitely before they can get their hands on the game.
Although this announcement was disappointing to the international community, it doesn’t necessarily mean that Rune Battleground will never reach a global audience. The possibility of a worldwide release in the future hinges on how well the game performs in China.
If the TCG gains traction and becomes popular in its initial market, Riot Games could potentially expand the release to other regions. For now, fans outside China will have to stay patient and hope for the game’s success.