Raymond Bartos, a producer known for his work on the World of Warcraft team, has shared news about his new job at a competing game studio. He is now set to work on a completely new MMO project, specifically the much-talked-about and secretive MMO being developed by Riot Games.
In a post shared on his LinkedIn profile, Bartos included several photos taken at the Riot Games office in Los Angeles. He explained his decision to join the company, stating that from his very first discussion with Riot, he felt drawn to their core values. He mentioned being genuinely impressed by how evident these values were throughout the interview process. This experience made it clear to him that kindness, respect, and care are not just empty words at Riot, but principles that the team truly follows in their daily work.
Bartos expressed deep gratitude for the chance to join such an inspiring group of individuals. He shared his excitement about getting started and his commitment to showing up every day to provide value for Riot gamers. His goal is to help deliver an MMO experience that players will truly enjoy and appreciate.
During his time at Blizzard, Bartos was part of the team responsible for shipping the popular Plunderstorm mode for World of Warcraft. He also contributed to multiple limited-time remix modes and helped organize the game’s 20th anniversary event. Bartos noted that he will be working alongside Orlando Salvatore, another former World of Warcraft veteran who made the move to Riot Games late last year.
It appears that quite a few notable names from Blizzard have ended up working on this upcoming MMO. For instance, Natalia Leenhardt spent 11 years at the company before joining Amazon Game Studios in 2021 for New World. She later joined the Riot Games MMO team in 2023. Another example is Kevin Carter, who joined Riot back in 2017 after more than ten years at Blizzard. Additionally, the former executive producer of the Riot MMO, Greg Street, was a legendary World of Warcraft developer, although he left the company back in 2023.
Regarding what we actually know about the Riot MMO, the details remain quite limited. We do know that the game is set in the Runeterra universe, which is consistent with most of Riot Games’ other works. We also know that the project underwent a “reset in direction” several years ago, and there has been very little official discussion about it since then.
As of now, there has been no announcement regarding a reveal event or any specific timeline for when we might see more of the game. However, the ongoing hiring of experienced staff is certainly a positive sign that serious development work is actively taking place.
