League of Legends developers have confirmed that the limited-time mode Arena will be retiring after split two. They will continue to work on and iterate on the mode.
Arena has been one of the biggest hits for League of Legends since its release. The 2v2v2v2 mode was so successful that the devs eventually brought it back in a new revamped form. Players were such fans of the mode that many had asked Riot if they could make it a permanent fixture in League of Legends, so the devs continued to iterate.
The revamped version of Arena introduced many new features to the mode, including Prismatic items and Stat Anvils, which further shook up how it was played. Since its introduction, Arena has remained on the client for quite some time, potentially hinting at its permanent status.
However, the developers have come forward now to explain that Arena will be retired once more at the end of Split 2 and that they don’t have a full answer on whether or not the mode will be a permanent stay.
Riot Cadmus on if Arena can become permanent pic.twitter.com/TZrOQwVd5s
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Riot Cadmus explained that the Modes team is currently working on many varying projects, which means they have to be very selective about which modes they make permanent.
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“We recently built Swarm. We’re already in R&D for future ideas. We want to continue to re-release old favorites and classics. So we always have to evaluate where to best invest time.”
Arena has reportedly done “very well” according to the Modes team, and its success is the reason why it was given a longer run this time around. The devs were curious to see what more time would bring to this community, and how players would react to the longer time frame.
“To that end, we’ve been pretty happy with what we’ve seen. Arena will continue to see support long-term for League. What’s currently uncertain is how that manifests.”
Unfortunately, the devs could not share a more definitive answer but did say that they would continue to “reinvest in this space and bring exciting updates for some of Arena’s biggest fans.”