Riot's MMO Gamble: Will a World of Warcraft Veteran Fix This 5-Year-Old Mess?

Riot Games is revving the engine on its decade-old MMO dream—but will this new World of Warcraft veteran actually get the thing off the ground?

The League of Legends MMO has languished in development for over five years with no playable release. Raymond Bartos, former World of Warcraft lead producer, joined Riot’s MMO team in 2025.

He described the studio’s culture as one where “kindness, respect, and care aren’t just words here, but something the team truly lives by.”

Bartos will collaborate with Orlando Salvatore, former World of Warcraft lead software engineer who joined Riot in 2024.

“I can’t wait to get started—showing up every day to provide value for Riot gamers and help deliver an MMO experience players truly enjoy,” Bartos said. He added: “Given our track record on World of Warcraft, I have a feeling we’ll be moving fast on day one.”

The most recent timeline for the project is described as “hopefully before we go to Mars.” Riot is also prioritizing a major League of Legends overhaul for 2027, though no direct link between the two projects was stated.