Game developer Riot Games has officially announced Project K, a trading card game based on its popular esports title League of Legends.
Slated to launch in China in early 2025, Project K will be a physical card game separate from Riot Games’ existing digital card title Legends of Runeterra.
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Project K was teased in China earlier this year with the name ‘Rune Battlegrounds’, however, the game has now been announced globally under this new moniker. It is worth noting that Project K will likely not be the official name of the TGC with titles such as VALORANT (Project A) and 2XKO (Project L) previously given similar codenames.
In the video, Riot Games explicitly stated that the upcoming physical TCG title will be separate from its digital card offering called Legends of Runeterra. However, the game will feature artwork and characters from in-house IPs including League of Legends and Legends or Runeterra.
The trading card game is said to be developed by a ‘small’ team led by Game Director Dave Guskin and Executive Producer, Chengran Chai. As revealed by Riot Games, the TCG title will allow players to play in a 1v1 format, or as a social multi-player with a group of people. As a result, the upcoming TCG title intends to appeal to both casual and competitive card players.
For Project K, Riot plans to hold regular events and activations at local stores, alongside competitive and casual tournaments around the world.
Chengran Chai, Game Director for Project K at Riot Games, commented: “We want to have competitive play that reaches from the store level to national level tournaments. And maybe even on a global stage”
As revealed in the video, Riot Games will be taking a staggered approach to launching their TCG title, with an initial release in China next year. League of Legends’ developer will then look to release the game in other markets, including North America and Europe, after the initial launch.
There are, however, opportunities for Western audiences to trial English cards of Project K, with desks available to be played at the TeamFight Tactics Macao Open, set to take place December 13th – 15th.
Riot Games will be first launching the game in China via a local publisher that will fulfil the developer’s goal of delivering activations and tournaments at local card stores, and more.
