At the moment, there are numerous exciting events swirling around the new mobile game by Riot. The mobile MOBA scene is one of the most interesting, to say the least. According to rumors, other parties are paying some of the most well-known Mobile Legends content creators in the Southeast Asian region to stay away from Riot’s Wild Rift. If this is true, it will create a rift in the community. Keep in mind that this is all rumor. As of right now, there isn’t any definitive confirmation. However, some thought-provoking ideas have emerged as a result of it.
Mobile Legends and Wild Rift have been involved in each other’s games for quite some time. Riot’s game hasn’t even fully marketed yet but it’s already out on iOS and Android. Mobile Legends was once accused of being a ripoff of League of Legends, but the game has managed to hold on to its popularity.
Moonton (developers of Mobile Legends) allegedly paid a few major creators not to touch Wild Rift with the regional open beta beginning in Indonesia. Hasagi is an Indonesian news outlet that reported that EVOS, a former ML Esports team, discussed this on their live stream.
Torino “Donkey” Putra addressed his audience. He and a friend “received an offer not to play Wild Rift from other parties.” Donkey did not identify the party who made the offer, so that is all we know. It’s not difficult to figure out who’s doing it. Our best guess is Moonton or a group affiliated with them. According to Hiru, some people notice it and are relieved. This indicates that Wild Rift is having a significant impact on the mobile gaming scene.
Mobile Legends is extremely popular in the SEA region, particularly in the Philippines and Indonesia. It’s a fun mobile MOBA that this writer enjoys playing in his spare time. Could this be a counter-move to Riot’s planned eSports taking over into the SEA region? Riot is rumored to be releasing some major eSports in the area for Wild Rift. It wouldn’t be surprising given that there has already been talk about Valorant eSports in the continent.
Offers were also made to content creators in the Philippines in order to stifle Wild Rift’s growth. Of course, those content creators’ contracts may preclude them from playing it in the first place, but there’s no way of knowing.
This could also be a ploy by fans of Wild Rift to discredit Mobile Legends. What is the truth in this case? Moonton has yet to comment, and we don’t expect them to. Who would publicly admit to paying people not to compete? It’s an intriguing story, to say the least.
