Riot is cutting off its most inviting entry point to League lore

polygon.com:

The first time I tried to share League of Legends with a loved one was a pretty poor experience. I convinced my brother, despite his skepticism, to download the free-to-play MOBA and give it a shot. We jumped into a game against low-level AI bots together; the lowest-pressure experience possible. Then, my brother made the mistake of purchasing a mana crystal on his AD carry character, and somebody else called him a slur in the chat.

Despite the nightmare carnival of toxicity and yelling I’ve encountered over the years, I love League of Legends and have since 2009, when the game had approximately four polygons. I’ve spent endless hours reading into the backstories of each champion, coming up with theories, and reading other fans speculate on what’s coming next. It’s only recently that I feel like I’ve been able to properly onboard new people into the great lore countless developers and creatives have built up around League. For a long time, Riot’s storytelling felt like the shaky steps of a baby horse, but with Riot Forge games, the Netflix show, the novel, and other ventures I started to feel like all of that investment was solidifying into something I could comfortably share with my friends and loved ones.

Then, the recent round of layoffs happened at Riot Games, along with the shuttering of Riot Forge. I fear that this decision, and the end of stand-alone League of Legends stories, will ultimately truncate the progress and experience the world’s narrative has made so far.

Bandle Tale will be the last Riot Forge game, and it’s possibly the strongest example of how these games make the League IP a less threatening and alarming place. These games are easier to play, more accessible, and less competitive — and hence, less toxic. Bandle Tale is a cozy RPG crafting game that’s much closer to a farming sim like Stardew Valley than a high-octane PvP deathmatch like League. It’s filled with charming characters, lighthearted conflicts, and low-pressure exploration. It’s