League of Legends TCG Riftbound, which has drawn massive attention with its '2025 World Champion T1 Collection', has finally set foot in South Korea.

Riot Games hosted a media showcase on August 18 at GGX in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, to commemorate the launch of the League of Legends TCG 'Riftbound'. The showcase revealed Riftbound's core identity, South Korea-exclusive content, and plans for building an offline ecosystem. In attendance were Cheng-Lan Tsai, Executive Producer of Riftbound; Rachel Unler, Head of Global Publishing for Riftbound; Lee Ji-soo, Head of Publishing Strategy & Operations at Riot Games Korea; and Shin Byung-yoon, APAC OP Lead at Riot Games.

Riftbound is an independent TCG developed based on the universe and champions of 'League of Legends (LoL)'. Rather than simply slapping League of Legends onto cards, the team focused on faithfully translating the play styles and personalities of original champions into card and deck mechanics, such as Yasuo's mobility darting across the battlefield or Teemo's tension-filled traps spreading mushrooms across the entire board. Players aim to capture various points across the battlefield, outmaneuvering opponents through champion movement and tactical mind games to reach 8 points first for victory.

Riot Games officials attending the showcase pointed to the 'offline experience' as the true essence of Riftbound. Sitting face-to-face across a table, reading the opponent's moves, feeling the tension at the moment of playing a card, and chatting after the match are all part of the game itself, they explained. Executive Producer Cheng-Lan Tsai explained, "Rather than an opposing concept to online play, we want to deliver an experience where players meet face-to-face to build a community."

During the showcase, the South Korea-exclusive over-number card 'Ahri, the Nine-Tailed Fox' was unveiled to celebrate the South Korean launch. Ahri is a champion with a special bond to South Korea, having had her name decided through a vote during the original South Korean launch of League of Legends. The over-number card features a newly reinterpreted illustration of the 'Hanbok Ahri' skin by Art Director Ellen Song. Producer Cheng-Lan Tsai noted, "This special card appears exclusively in the Korean-language version of the Origin booster packs," adding, "Ahri is a character symbolizing the special ties and history between Riot Games and the South Korean market, and we intend to respect that meaning and continue her story moving forward."

True to this, Riot Games showed a clear focus on South Korean fans who adore League of Legends when bringing Riftbound to South Korea. The '2025 World Champion T1 Collection', which honors the narrative of T1 achieving the first-ever three-peat at the World Championship in LCK history, is also a special edition crafted as a token of respect for South Korean esports and users.

She announced that a variety of starter product lines have been prepared for newcomers, including Champion Decks, Battlefields of Proof, and booster packs. Sales channels will also be expanded to online and offline Riot Stores, certified TCG shops nationwide, and Riot Games partnership PC bangs, making it easily accessible not just for existing TCG players, but also for League of Legends users and IP fans.

A grassroots tournament system to secure a stable landing in the South Korean market was also previewed at the event. A step-by-step competitive hierarchy is being prepared, starting with the weekly grassroots event 'Nexus Night', leading into 'Store Qualifiers', open tournaments, and 'Korea Major', a nationwide tournament boasting a 500-player scale. This year and next, quarterly prize pools of approximately 10 million KRW along with promotional cards will be supported to build the groundwork for players to dive more actively into the thrill of competition.

Additional explanations regarding Korea Major tournament seed rights were also provided. Shin Byung-yoon, APAC OP Lead at Riot Games, stated, "Just like typical TCG tournaments, there are no separate entry fees. We plan to allocate priority seeds to 120 to 160 top and runner-up finishers from the Store Qualifiers, while the remaining roughly 300 seats will be operated through open recruitment. We are closely reviewing lottery and first-come-first-served systems for the application process."

The release schedule gap with the global version is planned to undergo sequential compression to achieve complete synchronization with the global tournament ecosystem by 2028. Regarding potential meta shifts or user monetization burdens arising from the process of catching up with the global release lineup until 2027, Publishing Head Rachel Unler stated, "Rather than dumping multiple sets simultaneously, we plan to maintain single-set balance and reasonable price points, supporting users to catch up stably through a stepped competitive ecosystem," emphasizing her focus on delivering a balanced direction.

Regarding the scale of the South Korean TCG market and Riftbound's room for growth, Producer Cheng-Lan Tsai shared expectations for market growth, stating, "During the global launch, the influx of not only existing TCG users but also the massive LoL user base and IP fandom was striking. Since South Korea is the largest LoL market in the world with a rock-solid player foundation, we rate the potential and growth possibility of Riftbound extremely high."

In addition, addressing criticisms that initial supply fell short of domestic demand, she remarked, "We had an optimistic outlook on demand during the South Korean launch, but we witnessed explosive demand that far exceeded expectations," and added, "We actively plan to expand supply so that players can enjoy the cards at reasonable prices."