League of Legends fighting game will be free to play and include champion Illaoi

Project L, Riot Games' upcoming 2D fighting game based on League of Legends, will be free to play, the studio has confirmed.

In a dev update shared to YouTube on Monday, senior director Tom Cannon confirmed that Project L will be free to play, acknowledging that the news probably won't surprise longtime fans of the studio. 

"One of our goals is to remove as many barriers as possible from you enjoying Project L," said Cannon. "We want you to be able to play no matter where you live, what your skill level is, or how much money you have to spend on a game."

Of course, in 2022 it's pretty much expected that the devs behind a new free-to-play game touch on monetization, although Cannon only assured players that Riot will be "respectful of both your time and your wallet."

Project L

(Image credit: Riot Games)

The dev team behind Project L also released a written update on the game that introduces its newest champion, the Kraken Priestess Illaoi. The game's narrative director, Scott "Jaredan" Hawkes, describes Illaoi's Project L incarnation as "a powerful and charismatic spiritual leader who inspires others to be their own unstoppable force" and someone who "turns heads and dominates a room with her physical presence and confident, purposeful swagger."

Game designer Caroline "Riot Shyvana" Montano explained that Illaoi will have tank-like stats with slower movements, heavier hits, and a "huge" hurtbox. 

"Illaoi is a strong and muscular woman who attacks with a giant totem, so it makes sense she would hit with her own physical strength, as opposed to hiding behind the power of her god or magical abilities.

Project L doesn't have a release date yet.

For what to play right now, don't miss our guide to the best PC games in 2022.

CATEGORIES
Jordan Gerblick

After scoring a degree in English from ASU, I worked as a copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. Now, as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer, I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my apartment, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.

Read more
jinx in 2xko weilding a big hammer with a smirk on her face
The League of Legends fighting game spin-off won't be getting its big playtest, but that's so that more of you can play it later this year
Supervive
As League of Legends fans reel over loot controversy, fans of ex-Riot devs' hot new MOBA seize the chance to promote their game instead
League of Legends
Riot walks back controversial League of Legends changes: Hextech Chests, Exalted skins, and Blue Essence costs are all being reworked
Overwatch 2 heroes battling
Overwatch 2 director reckons it would be "very difficult" to run a shooter that isn't free-to-play now, but the model's also changing how games are designed
League of Legends
As League of Legends players blast 800-hour grinds, Riot says this "wasn't meant to get harder" and "we messed up" on the whole First Blood thing too
Arcane
4 years later, the League of Legends MMO remains a major project for Riot Games' co-founder who says it's "exactly the type of company" that should be making MMOs
Latest in League of Legends
Arcane
4 years later, the League of Legends MMO remains a major project for Riot Games' co-founder who says it's "exactly the type of company" that should be making MMOs
League of Legends
As League of Legends players blast 800-hour grinds, Riot says this "wasn't meant to get harder" and "we messed up" on the whole First Blood thing too
Arcane season 2
Arcane writer says "it was always our hope" to get a character from the show into League of Legends
Valorant
Riot Games cracks down on Valorant and League of Legends streamers who promote boosting, smurfing, and buying accounts
Arcane
Arcane season 2 has a bit of a canon problem – but as a 13-year League of Legends veteran, I can't bring myself to care
Viktor in Netflix's Arcane
After 3 years, Arcane's now responsible for a second League of Legends character revamp - this time it's a new Viktor
Latest in News
Walton Goggins in The Righteous Gemstones
The final season of Fallout star's HBO comedy has debuted to a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score
World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft guild cheats its way to winning Race for World First, gets caught, banned, then reverses its name and does it all over again
A AMD Ryzen 7 8700G being put into it's socket by a reviewer
AMD's new Ryzen 9 X3D processors launch today, here's the stock I've found so far
GTA 3 Mobile screenshot showing claude running away from police near a casino
The fan-made Dreamcast version of GTA 3 is looking way better in the latest look, introducing tech that "would’ve previously been a slideshow"
Scarlett Johansson in Jurassic World Rebirth
Jurassic World Rebirth studio asked Scarlett Johansson to join Instagram, but she refused: "The film will do fine"
Deltarune
Undertale creator Toby Fox's tomfoolery leaves Deltarune testers thinking an intentional nerf was actually a bug after they "independently" discovered it