© Riot GamesArtwork for the mobile game "League of Legends: Wild Rift." A regional open beta version will be available in March for North and South America on iPhone and Android.
Soon, you will be able to play a full-fledged "League of Legends" game on your smartphone.
A beta version of "League of Legends: Wild Rift" will be available in March for iPhone and Android, Riot Games announced Wednesday.
The game further expands the mobile universe of the popular PC game, which already spawned a card-based game "Legends of Runeterra," played on PCs and mobile in April 2020.
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And it builds on the rich franchise of "League of Legends," which launched in 2009 and still has about 100 million players monthly on PC. Last year, it was the highest earning, non-mobile, free game, making $1.75 billion, according to research firm Superdata.
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© Riot GamesA screenshot from the game "League of Legends: Wild Rift." A regional open beta version will be available in March for North and South America on iPhone and Android.
Mobile 'League of Legends' keeps the 'magic'
"Wild Rift" is a game that is "going to be worthy" of "League of Legends," said Michael Chow, the executive producer of the game. "We have rebuilt literally everything from the ground up because we wanted to faithfully create the same 'League of Legends' magic on mobile devices with everything that makes (the game) what it is to our players on their desktops."
Publisher Riot Games hopes that the game attracts longtime PC "Legends" players and newcomers to the franchise, which has a huge eSports presence an huge eSports draw and has an animated TV series "Arcane" in the works for 2021.
Nearly 46 million people watched some of the "League of Legends" world championship event in October in Shanghai.
And Riot Games plans an esport ecosystem for "Wild Rift" on mobile. "We think in general this is just an amazing time . to make and play games on mobile and foster these ecosystems," Chow said during an online briefing of mobile game developers Tuesday hosted by Apple.
'Crash Bandicoot' runs on mobile
Also on display: "Crash Bandicoot: On the Run!" scheduled to be available for iOS and Android this spring. The mobile game stars the title character of the original 1996 Sony PlayStation game.
It's a running game, with options to get off the beaten path. "We wanted to have an experience where you can explore, and you can choose different paths and you can discover hidden caves and little secret traps," said the game's senior producer Bob Woodburn. "So every time you replay a level, you get a little different experience."
The game will also have new seasons every month or so and have social features that let you race friends and join a clan.
© King.comA screen shot from the upcoming mobile game, 'Crash Bandicoot: On the Run!' scheduled to be available for iOS and Android this spring.
Mobile Marvel game gets Thor
And fans of the mobile battling game "Marvel Realm of Champions," released in December for Android and iOS, will soon be able to play a new Avenger in the game: Thor.
An upcoming 2.0 update will also include new events, weapons, leaderboards, and world quests. "Basically, we are introducing a little bit more narrative-driven game modes . to give you some context to what is going on in the battle realm and present specific challenges to players," said Ethan Young, development director for the game.
© KabamA screenshot from the mobile game 'Marvel Realm of Champions.'
Follow Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mobile games update: 'League of Legends: Wild Rift,' 'Crash Bandicoot,' and Thor in 'Marvel Realm of Champions'