The eSports scene is dominated by a few household names today – but there are always contenders who want to become the “next big thing.” Lucky for us, they don’t focus exclusively on eSports, giving non-competitive gamers reasons to be excited about them. Still, we can’t deny that many devs now focus on competition.
Looking at some of the upcoming games, though, this is not a bad thing. Here are some titles we can be excited about that will – hopefully – come out in 2024.
Riot Games’ Upcoming MMO
Riot Games has become a household name in eSports. Their games and tournaments are covered globally, from 1Win to VWIN, and their games are among the most-played competitive titles in the world. And they are planning to add even more.
Aside from LoL and Valorant, both widely played online, Riot plans to add another genre to its already sizeable portfolio: a massively multiplayer online title. So far, there’s little to know for sure about the game aside from the fact that it will be based on the League universe. But there’s a lot of speculation surrounding it already.
The yet-untitled MMO has been in development since 2021 with the help of top talent like Rebel Wolves creative director Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz and LoL gameplay director Mark Yetter. Some expect it to be released – or at least announced – sometime in the middle of this year. But remember, this is not official, so take it with a grain of salt.
ZeroSpace
Back in the day, real-time strategy (RTS) games were all the rage. Then the public’s appetite for them was thwarted by other genres. But there were a few – especially classics like Starcraft – that never went out of style. To ease the hunger of RTS fans for new releases, StarLance Studios was founded in 2022. And their first game, ZeroSpace, is currently under development.
ZeroSpace will be a cinematic RTS/RPG with several game modes, including 1v1 and 3v3 battles. It will, of course, include a story campaign and cooperative play as well. The game has all the markings of one built by RTS enthusiasts, visibly influenced by some of the biggest names in the genre. But this won’t stop it from being an amazing eSports title once it hits the market… hopefully in 2024.
Stormgate
Another upcoming RTS, this time from Frost Giant Studios, a company with some true giants of the genre at the helm. Founded in 2020, the studio has talent like Tim Morten and Tim Campbell, both former Blizzard developers, along with StarCraft II lead engineer James Anhalt, Diablo IV principal artist Jesse Brophy, and former Blizzard senior writer Micky Neilson.
These giants, and more, came together almost half a decade ago to bring about the next generation of RTS games, Stormgate. The game will be a post-apocalyptic RTS, covering everything from casual play to eSports. It will be free-to-play with some monetized elements.
Stormgate had its closed beta late last year and will have an open beta session this year. Hopefully, it will be released in time for the holiday season.
From industry veterans to enthusiastic newcomers, countless people are working on the next generation of competitive games. And not just that – they work to bring us new worlds to explore, new heroes to root for, and new foes to overcome. If you ask me, these games couldn’t come fast enough. Let’s just hope they will be up to the hype.
