Everything you need to know about League of Legends: Wild Rift

League of Legends is still the king. The mobile online battle arena (MOBA) game remains a dominant force in esports, and developer Riot Games shows no signs of slowing down with the game. In fact, it’s doubling down. Riot will expand its portfolio with new additions to the League of Legends series, including a smaller version of the game built for mobile devices.

League of Legends: Wild Rift is a new spin on the multiplayer hit that’s slightly more approachable, particularly because of its focus on mobile devices. The game features a smaller map and quicker rounds, making it a lighter entry point to the series. While the exact release date has yet to be finalized, there are tons of details floating around about the game — including the newly announced date for the North American beta.

Here’s everything we know about League of Legends: Wild Rift.

When does the League of Legends: Wild Rift beta start?

The first regional open beta for Wild Rift began in select regions of Asia in October 2020, but soon, it will open up for North America. March 2021 was previously hinted as the window, and on March 9, Riot Games confirmed a launch date of March 29, 2021.

All North American players on Android or iOS will be able to access the game starting on that day.

When is the League of Legends: Wild Rift release date?

There’s no date set for the full version yet. Riot Games is most likely waiting for the game to go through an extensive beta to make sure it's ready for release, so it’s likely that the full version comes out more towards the back half of the year if it launches in 2021 at all.

What platforms is League of Legends: Wild Rift on?

Wild Rift is primarily being imagined as a mobile game, and Riot plans to launch it on both iOS and Android.

The game’s website also notes that the game is coming to “consoles,” but Riot has yet to define which consoles are included. It seems likely that the game would come to PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X and their older counterparts. A Switch port doesn’t seem unlikely either considering that it’s not a particularly powerful game. The site specifically calls out consoles, so it doesn’t seem like PC is part of the plan at the moment.

Is there a League of Legends: Wild Rift trailer?

Yes, there are a few trailers out there. You can check out the game in action above to see how the mobile version runs. The Wild Rift YouTube channel is filled with extensive gameplay videos and character breakdowns as well.

How is Wild Rift different from League of Legends?

Wild Rift is a full game that’s built from the ground up, but it differs from the main League of Legends in a few key ways. The map itself is smaller than its counterpart. It’s still built for five vs. five battles, so nothing is fundamentally different, but the game has been tweaked around its smaller map.

Matches are meant to take up to 20 minutes, making it less of a time commitment than your average League of Legends game. Since this was designed as a mobile experience, the control scheme differs drastically from the PC version. Different buttons appear onscreen to help players control the action with their thumbs. Touching the left side of the screen moves the character around and different finger gestures control the camera.

The game will get its own updates, making it entirely separate from the PC version. The game is free-to-play and features the same microtransaction pricing model that fans are used to in League of Legends.

What champions are in League of Legends: Wild Rift?

According to the Wild Light website, there are 47 champions currently confirmed for the game. That includes characters like Ahri, Jinx, Ashe, and many more. Some champions have been slightly altered to account for the game’s faster pace and smaller map.

While the roster is quite large, not every League of Legends character is coming to the game at launch. It’s not clear if they’ll come to the game eventually or if some were removed entirely to accommodate for the gameplay changes.