Riot Games reportedly shut down a Super Smash Bros. Melee-style game set in the League of Legends universe, codenamed Pool Party.
According to ReaderGrev, a newsletter by former Launcher editor Mikhail Klimentov, Pool Party was canceled due to the reassessment of consumer interest in a Super Smash Bros. competitor. Riot executives were reportedly worried about MultiVersus, the Smash Bros. competitor that featured Warner Bros. characters and how it didn’t seem as nearly as successful.
Pool Party’s concept was reportedly also changed several times during development. Initially starting out as a hardcore fighting game, more casual mechanics and party-game elements were introduced later on. Due to the constant changes, some Riot employees reportedly became frustrated.
There were 70-80 developers reportedly working on Pool Party, and about half of them were offered different positions within Riot Games after its cancelation, while others were looking at other jobs internally. However, 10 employees were reportedly neither given offers nor were looking internally for new roles, and presumably either left Riot or were let go.
Riot Games has been expanding the League of Legends universe and creating spin-offs. Currently, Riot is creating 2XKO, a 2D fighter in the same vein as Granblue Fantasy Versus and Dragon Ball FighterZ. It is due out sometime in 2025.
