Riot's Newest Game Is Pretty Much Just Overwatch

The developer behind the hit title League of Legends, Riot Games, is looking to expand its reach out of the MOBA space. The studio's newest title, which is codenamed Project A, seems to share the same similarities as Blizzard’s Overwatch.

Obviously, the upcoming game from the studio is still early in development. In fact, the company is believed to be “going heads down for a while” before it decides to reveal more information about it come early 2020. However, in its announcement video, Project A gave fans and players alike a glimpse of what the game might be about.

Unlike its massively popular MOBA League of Legends, Riot Games describes Project A as “a stylish, competitive, character-based tactical shooter for PC.” The unofficial title, in case you are wondering, is not linked to LoL in any way, and it will be set on a near-future Earth. It is even said to offer a roster of characters, each of whom has a very unique set of abilities.

The early footage of Project A seems to draw comparisons with Blizzard’s first-person online shooter Overwatch. This is simply because of the unique skills in each hero’s arsenal. Riot Games’ VP of IP and Entertainment, Greg “Ghostcrawler” Street, however, offered an explanation regarding the difference between the two games.

Overwatch players are all about relying on the abilities of their go-to heroes in order to come up with advantages in matches. Project A, on the other hand, seems to be about dialing down the action in favor of strategy, with the characters’ abilities meant to function as support to a player’s gun skills. Street further suggested that Riot Games’ upcoming game will compare more closely to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, which is also a popular shooter title for PC.

The big reveal of Project A was accompanied by Riot Games’ renewed commitment regarding network latency and cheaters. In the footage, the company’s very own executive producer Anna Donlon talked about the kind of technology that will focus on eliminating cheaters in an attempt to preserve the integrity of online matches, as well as combating never-ending issues like “peaker’s advantage,” when certain players perform better due to latency.