Ruined King, the singleplayer League of Legends game, finally shows off some gameplay

Ruined King was announced in December 2019 as the first-ever singleplayer League of Legends game, in development at Airship Syndicate as part of the Riot Forge publishing program. In October of this year it was set for a release in early 2021 on the Epic Games Store, and in a new trailer revealed tonight at The Game Awards we got our first look at some actual gameplay.

The game is set in two regions of Runeterra, the port town of Bilgewater and the Shadow Isles, shrouded in the corrupting Black Mist. Players will form a party with League of Legends stalwarts Miss Fortune, Illaoi, Braum, Yasuo, Ahri, and Pyke, to confront some mysterious "common enemy."

The trailer doesn't reveal anything more about that narrative (although it does hint that some element of underhandedness may be at play), but it does provide an interesting look at the isometric gameworld and tactical combat. Characters appear to have abilities and attributes similar to those in League of Legends, and it seems that battles will occur in standalone segments, off the main game map and from a side-by-side perspective.

Separate from the trailer, an interesting change to Ruined King's website suggests that it might be a little longer in the making than we expected. In October it was set to arrive in early 2021 (you can also see that in this archived version of the website) but now it's dropped the "early" part and saying on that it's "coming 2021." I've reached out to Riot to clarify and will update if I receive a reply.