In a fascinating glimpse into gaming history, a popular League of Legends content creator has unearthed the original investor pitch for what would eventually become one of the most successful video games of all time. The discovery reveals that Riot Games’ flagship title was once a dramatically different concept called “Onslaught: War of the Immortals,” complete with edgy lore, cartoonish cityscapes, and champion designs that would be virtually unrecognizable to modern players. The pitch dates back to the mid-2000s, around the same time Finger Eleven’s “Paralyzer” was climbing the music charts, and it offers an unprecedented look at the humble origins of a game that now boasts over 100 million monthly active players worldwide.
The full revelation comes courtesy of League of Legends YouTuber Necrit, who collaborated with Riot Games employee Paul “Pabro” Bellezza to access these ancient development materials. According to Necrit’s video uploaded last Thursday, he simply asked Riot if he could see League of Legends at its most primordial state, and the company delivered in spectacular fashion. The investor pitch includes a mix of video footage, design documents for several champions, a comprehensive lore breakdown, and numerous screenshots from the game’s earliest development phase. While various leaks over the years had revealed fragments of this information, this marks the most complete picture yet of what League of Legends could have been.
A Completely Different Game World
The differences between Onslaught: War of the Immortals and modern League of Legends are so stark that long-time players would struggle to identify any connection between the two. Instead of Summoner’s Rift—the iconic three-lane battlefield that has defined competitive League of Legends for over fifteen years—the original concept featured a cartoony cityscape divided between “order” and “chaos” realms. This dual-faction system would have required players to declare allegiance to one side when they first began playing, and certain heroes were even exclusive to specific realms. The gameplay concept also included customizable immortals that players could temporarily summon during climactic battle moments, adding a layer of personalization that was ultimately abandoned in the final product.
This faction-based approach mirrors design philosophies that were popular in the mid-2000s MMORPG scene, where games like World of Warcraft had demonstrated the appeal of giving players meaningful factional identities. However, Riot eventually pivoted toward a more flexible system where any player could use any champion, regardless of their thematic alignment. This decision likely contributed to League of Legends’ broader appeal and competitive viability, as it allowed for more diverse team compositions and didn’t artificially limit player choices based on an arbitrary allegiance system.
Familiar Champions With Unfamiliar Faces
Perhaps the most entertaining aspect of the investor pitch is seeing how dramatically certain champions have evolved from their original concepts. Annie, the dark child pyromancer who remains one of League’s most recognizable characters, appears in the pitch with her signature flaming teddy bear companion Tibbers, though her visual design looks remarkably different from her current iteration. The champion Sion, now a hulking undead juggernaut, originally sported a highlighter-orange beard that bears no resemblance to his modern appearance. Interestingly, the only character who has remained relatively unchanged through the years is Singed, the mad chemist, though for some reason he was originally named “Zij” in the pitch documents.
The original lore presented in the investor pitch reflects the edgier sensibilities of mid-2000s gaming culture. The story describes a world where order and chaos factions coexisted on neutral terms until “an antichrist of sorts” was born and tore a hole in reality so massive that chaos now threatens to consume all existence. Even Riot Games’ logo appears drenched in blood in the pitch video, showcasing a much darker aesthetic direction than the company would eventually pursue. This grimdark approach was common in gaming during that era, though Riot would later develop a more nuanced and expansive universe with diverse tonal ranges across different regions and champion backstories.
The Road From Pitch To Phenomenon
League of Legends officially launched in October 2009, roughly two to three years after this investor pitch was created, giving Riot Games considerable time to refine and reimagine their concept. The final product retained the core MOBA gameplay loop inspired by the popular Warcraft III mod Defense of the Ancients but shed most of the specific design elements visible in the Onslaught pitch. This transformation illustrates how dramatically games can evolve during development, particularly when talented designers remain open to iteration and feedback. Today, League of Legends generates billions of dollars in annual revenue and has spawned a competitive esports ecosystem with professional leagues across multiple continents.
The timing of this discovery is particularly relevant given the recent success of League of Legends Classic, a nostalgic mode that allows players to experience earlier versions of the game. Necrit humorously notes in his coverage that while Classic has been popular among veteran players seeking to relive memories of older patches, the Onslaught pitch reveals there’s an even more ancient version of the game that remains unexplored. The content creator jokes that true “classic-ification” won’t be achieved until Sion has his original orange beard and players can’t recognize any aspect of the game they’ve been playing for over a decade.
Expert Opinion: This investor pitch discovery underscores how drastically successful games can transform during development, and Riot’s willingness to abandon their original faction-locked design likely saved League of Legends from becoming a niche title. The pivot toward accessible, unrestricted champion selection created the foundation for the game’s unprecedented competitive longevity, demonstrating that sometimes the most important development decisions involve knowing what to cut rather than what to add.
