On this week’s MOP Podcast, Justin wondered aloud whether Riot Games itself had addressed the departure of Greg “Ghostcrawler” Street from his role leading the Riot MMORPG. I had looked but hadn’t found anything official, but as it turns out, there was a little peep last week over on Marc Merrill’s Twitter account. We might have preferred a formal statement, but we’ll take it anyway. In short, the game continues development, though Merrill cautions it’s in early dev and has a “long road” in front of it.
“[W]e 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.) 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. In the meantime, we’re looking for the world’s best and brightest who LOVE MMOs. If you have ever dreamed of helping to build what we hope can be the world’s next incredible MMO – we’d love to hear from you.”
Merrill, of course, is the very exec who first teased the MMO in 2018, then immediately walked it back while trolling MMO gamers; it was Street who finally put an end to all the teasing and flat denials by confirming the game was underway in 2022. As one of the co-founders of the company, Merrill previously served as its CEO and was appointed president of games at the studio in 2022.
