Riot Games Reportedly Canceled a Super Smash Bros. Melee Inspired Platform Fighter

According to a report from journalist Mikhail Klimentov, Riot Games has quietly canceled an unannounced platform fighter, internally referred to as Pool Party. The game, which was set in Riot’s League of Legends universe, was envisioned as a competitive-oriented take on the subgenre inspired by Super Smash Bros. Melee. Although it is over 20 years old, Melee still sports an active community due to its depth and advanced mechanics, which has allowed it to persist despite Nintendo’s frequent attempts to clamp down on the scene. Those familiar with the original pitch for Pool Party said the Smash games’ competitive popularity was cited as evidence for how their own platform fighter could establish an esports scene.

However, insiders said it was canceled after executives lost faith in the commercial viability of a Smash alternative. Specifically, the higher-ups cited perceived failures around MultiVersus as a reason to cancel development. MultiVersus, the Warner Bros-produced free-to-play fighter, released in Early Access to initial popularity but then plummeted in player count, was taken offline, came out again to relative popularity, and then saw its player count rapidly fall once more. During development, Pool Party apparently shifted from its initial competitive focus to something with more party game appeal, which frustrated many on the project.

There were roughly 70-80 employees working on Pool Party when it was shut down. According to one of Klimentov’s sources, around half of these developers have already been reassigned within the studio, while the others were either still looking for positions or had presumably left the company.

It’s no secret that the last few years have been excruciating for many game developers. There have been widespread layoffs, numerous shuttered studios, and massive cuts to funding across the board. This has led to a swathe of projects being shut down, many of which we’ll never know about, and Pool Party is just the latest reported case. Joe Hixson, a senior comms director at Riot Games, offered Klimentov a statement: “We always have a number of projects in various phases of R&D, and spinning projects up and down happens multiple times a year.”

Since the Super Smash Bros. games defined the platform fighter sub-genre, there have been numerous attempts at capturing the series’ popularity to mixed success. While the franchise’s reach has steadily increased over its 20-year history, peaking with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s 34 million in sales, games like PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale or Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl haven’t quite been able to make a dent.

There are a lot of explanations for this, from Smash’s existing name-brand recognition and abundant polish to issues with these competitors, like MultiVersus’ heavily criticized microtransactions. Platform fighters made by smaller teams have often been the best received, from the Melee-inspired Rivals of Aether to the consistently popular Brawhalla.

While it appears we’ll never know how Pool Party would have landed, Riot has another League of Legends fighting game in development, the long-anticipated 2XKO. It’s set for a closed playtest in August and a 2025 release.