- Riot Games finally gave an update about the LoL Esports Manager and showcased the game
- The game will simulate the feeling of being the manager of a professional team of esports athletes
- Sadly, no official release date was announced
After two years, Riot Games revealed a gameplay trailer for the League of Legends Esports Manager simulator.
Leading Your Dream Team to Glory
Back in 2019 Riot Games made a bit of an unusual announcement. The company, usually known for games putting players in the shoes of powerful fictional characters, revealed the coming of an LoL Esports Manager game where the player takes the role of a professional League of Legends team manager.
Two years passed with little to no information about this fresh idea. That is until the celebrations around the LPL’s 10th anniversary yesterday where Riot Games has finally put the cards on the table. Although fans weren’t given an exact release date, they received an exciting sneak peek into the esports manager game.
In a promotional video, the game’s global producer Kate Han showcased how the manager sim will work. She showed that fans can build the roster of their dreams by choosing from numerous players based on real LPL athletes. All games will be simulated in a minimalistic manner that shows the characters of the players as icons moving across the map.
The game will be constantly updated to reflect the current state of the professional League of Legends scene – players will have their ratings and playstyles tweaked on the move.
Han explained that the LoL Esports Manager is designed to emulate the true feeling of an LPL event and to convey the real satisfaction of being a team’s manager. Therefore the artificial intelligence will replicate situations based on happenings from a real professional game.
What to Expect in the Future?
Some have noted that player cards in the promotional video have different stats, corresponding to the level of their real-life counterparts. Because of this, some have come to speculate that the new title will be in a gacha format. Gacha is a genre of games where characters acquisition happens at a random chance after resource investment – the stronger a character is, the lesser the chances of getting it.
The gacha genre has existed for a long time and has been quite popular in Asia but was only recently popularized in the West through titles such as Genshin Impact, Arknights, Fate Grand Order, etc. It is yet to be officially confirmed if the LoL Esports Manager will really be a gacha.
As mentioned, Riot Games hasn’t revealed the exact reveal date of the manager sim. It was originally announced for 2020 but was delayed, probably because of the turbulent year. As there are still many uncertainties, the video game company has refrained from setting deadlines.
