Many League of Legends players were left skeptical of the future of alternate modes after it was announced Daniel Emmons, Riot’s mode’s lead, was leaving the team, but the developers have this week reassured fans they still have “more ambitious goals” for new modes.

The worry first flared up on Dec. 15, with League players sharing concerns on Reddit. Riot’s lead gameplay producer, Ryan Mireles, soon weighed in on the worries, which included the future of alternate modes like Arena, URF, and Nexus Blitz; there should be no great worry in the League playerbase, he suggested in a reply. He also shot down fears there would be a “drought of content” as the mode team reshapes next year.

Screenshot showing the garden map of LoL Arena game mode.
The Arena Mode has seen a ton of popularity. Screengrab via Ryscu

“Definitely not,” Mireles suggested on the topic of modes being left by the wayside in 2024. “I am actually investing more heavily into the modes team for next year. The team has more ambitious goals for next year than this year.”

This is big news considering Riot’s relationship with any mode other than Summoner’s Rift. Many believe the LTMs in League have been lackluster over the past five years after the departure of Stephen Mortimer, who is best known for designing Nexus Blitz and ARAM. I hope the devs don’t walk back on their words and deliver plenty of high-quality modes like Arena. Arena and URF have filled the immense void left by the absence of modes of yore like Dominion and Twisted Treeline, though their scarce availability leaves much to be desired.

One League player even begged Mireles to make Arena a permanent mode, with many quickly agreeing a decision like that would definitely have a long-lasting positive impact on how fresh League feels. Constant grinding on the regular five-vs-five modes like Aram and the Rift gets tedious. Arena fixes that by offering a quick and stress-free fix of the fantastic League gameplay, and I believe we all hope it stays for as long as possible.