League of Legends popular Arena mode set to return in December 2023

29 August 2023

Earlier this summer, it was big news for fans of international esports and for fans of League of Legends in particular: the release of LoL Arena mode. Riot Games introduced the new game mode as an alternative for players looking for shorter game times, faster gameplay and new champions combinations, and it was an instant hit. Riot has been stingy with news about the future of Arena though, apart from tempering expectations of it becoming a permanent League of Legends feature after the end of the ongoing Soul Fighter event. Up until now that is, because on Monday, August 28th, Riot announced via its own Twitter account that Arena mode will return later this year.

“@Riotbrightmoon and @Riotmeddler share updates on Ranked, our plans for Arena, the return of Nexus Blitz, and an update on bot AI. @Riotpupulasers talks about changes to Preseason and the removal of the Mythic Item System”, Riot wrote.

So what did Riot have to say?

As part of the latest update from Riot, the company announced the return of Arena mode later this year, possibly in December 2023. This means that the nearing end of the current Soul Fighter event, a major six-week tournament taking place in the world of Runeterra, will not mean the end of Arena mode, which is great news for players. That’s not even all, because the developer also announced a host of new improvements, including better champion diversity, a wider meta, new augments, map adjustments, and new ways to play with friends.

This last improvement in particular is interesting, because one of the major wishes of LoL players for the recently launched Arena mode was a way to queue up with more than one set of friends. A lot of players showed interest in facing off against their own friends and it looks like Riot has listened to the community. The developers already mentioned at an earlier point that this would require some adjustments in terms of game mechanics in order to prevent any boosting up the ranked ladder, but it looks like they have found a way.

What is Arena mode exactly?

The introduction of new game modes is not very common at all in the world of League of Legends, so the launch of Arena mode earlier this summer was big news in the community. For the more casual players who have not yet tried it out, we’ll briefly explain how it works and why it became so popular in a relatively short time.

Arena Mode really is a new way of playing, complete with new map layouts, new mechanics and new augments. It was heavily inspired by Teamfight Tactics’ Double-Up mode as four teams of two players compete against each other. The goal is to battle over several rounds, each of which consists of a purchasing phase and a combat phase, and each round is played in a 2V2 format against a different team. Winning teams keep their health, losing teams lose some until they reach zero and are eliminated. Perhaps the coolest aspect of LoL Arena is that you can form a team with a partner of your choice, allowing in-game communication and coordination that is much better than with a randomly selected player.

Photo Credit: Riot Games