Riot Games has unveiled Project K: The League of Legends TCG which aims to bring your favorite Champions onto the tabletop.
Back in September 2024, rumors started swirling about a League of Legends trading card game when fans tracked down a teaser video shared on Chinese social media site Bilibili. Riot has now confirmed its existence with a detailed preview of what they’re currently calling Project K: The League of Legends TCG.
It’s not Riot’s first foray into the space of course. The studio also developed Legends of Runeterra but this card game based around their most popular IP was solely digital.
Project K: The League of Legends TCG will be Riot’s first attempt at a physical TCG with hopes of creating an entry point to the franchise for new fans. Don’t think that means it won’t still be catering to existing fans of the characters and world of LoL, however.
Project K is more than just a physical Legends of Runeterra
Right away, the developers of Project K want prospective players to know that the League of Legends TCG isn’t just a physical adaptation of Legends of Runeterra. It will be an entirely new trading card game with its own distinct mechanics.
“It’s our privilege to make a League IP game that we think deeply serves the needs of a different kind of audience,” explained Game Director Dave Guskin. “Players who want to connect across the table and immerse themselves in the gameplay, setting, and characters that they love.”
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While Project K won’t be Legends of Runeterra with cardboard, it does apparently take cues from the “Rich Champion design philosophies” of that game. This takes the form of thematic deck-building centered around iconic League of Legends characters.
Devs briefly showed off concepts like an aggro Volibear deck that wants to “punch everyone in the face”, a tempo-focused Jinx deck, and a Viktor deck that relies on tokens to name a few. On top of this, the team behind the League of Legends TCG also revealed plans for 2v2 multiplayer formats on launch as well as a focus on organized play.
Riot Games has announced ‘PROJECT K’, their new physical TCG League of Legends game ▪️ Releasing in 2025▪️ Not a physical Legends of Runeterra, but inherits lore from that game▪️ Card art feature aspects of all parts of Runeterra and other League IP ▪️ Much like League, all… pic.twitter.com/JjYMAo5Jlc
— Valorant News (@ValorINTEL) December 6, 2024
“We want to have competitive play that reaches from the store level all the way up to national level tournaments and maybe even global events,” confirmed Executive Producer Chengran Chai.
The developers did temper expectations regarding a simultaneous global launch and explained they’ll be opting for “a staggered approach” to releases for Project K: the League of Legends TCG. China will be the first country to get its hands on the game in “early 2025” due to Riot’s existing relationship with a printing partner there.
The devs confirmed that they are already looking for more printers and aim to share more details about global launch plans “in the very near future”.
