League of Legends is a game that produces conflict. Not just the in-game conflict of wizards and demons killing each other, but the tense moments that are produced at every step of the player’s experience. Sensitive and tactful players can massage these moments out of existence, but in other hands, they can spiral into full-on fights that give rise to much of the toxic behavior League is known for.
Before the millions of players and billions in revenue, before the esports tournaments that draw 100 million spectators, League of Legends existed as a concept more than a game. In the year-long lead up to its release, Riot’s core team struggled to balance the needs of creating what Jew describes as a “DOTA clone” very quickly with the demands of innovating on an existing genre.
As a result, there were a lot of early games that weren’t very good. “It was a super scary time,” he says.
Then, the team started a new phase of development. “We realized if we just put in more work, and kept pushing out the date, it would be okay,” he says.
Those months of hard work paid off. The game was announced in October 2008 and went into closed beta in April 2009. Jew recalls those months as a “super scary time.” 롤대리
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