Riot Games has officially debunked a recent rumor claiming the studio was working on a competitor to Valve's upcoming hero shooter Deadlock. While the rumor was already questionable due to its unreliable source, Riot’s definitive statement has fully discredited the claim.
Riot Games is well-known for its two blockbuster competitive titles, League of Legends and Valorant, which consistently draw millions of players daily. While League of Legends is a MOBA and Valorant is a hero shooter, Valve’s Deadlock aims to merge these genres into a unique experience. Despite being in its alpha stage, Deadlock still manages to attract around 100,000 daily players.
Though several game studios are likely paying attention to Deadlock’s innovative features, a recent unfounded rumor went too far, alleging that Riot Games had received a $200 million investment from Tencent to create a Deadlock rival. The rumor’s sole "source" was a doctored article supposedly from PC Gamer, which already cast doubts on its legitimacy. Riot Games’ communications manager, Joe Hixson, recently put the rumor to rest with a tweet.
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Hixson called the rumor "extra fake," noting that the article in question doesn’t exist and clarifying that Tencent doesn’t fund Riot Games' development in such an arbitrary manner. To further dismiss the claim, Hixson confirmed that "nothing like Deadlock" is being developed in Riot’s R&D department. Currently, Riot Games is focused on two new projects within the League of Legends universe: the free-to-play fighting game 2XKO, slated for release in 2025, and an unannounced MMO.
Given its busy schedule, it seems unlikely that Riot Games would have the capacity to take on a high-budget Deadlock competitor, especially while transitioning Valorant to Unreal Engine 5. With its popular MOBA and hero shooter already dominating those genres, it doesn’t make sense for Riot to pursue similar projects. Instead, the studio appears to be focusing on the fighting game genre, with 2XKO already gaining positive traction among players and poised to become another hit when it launches next year.
