It looks like that time of the year again: Riot Games is introducing the new League of Legends Teamfight Tactics game mode. This will be released with Patch 9.13 on June 25 and this time it'll bring a strategy-flavored twist to combat in Runeterra, where you'll face off against seven other summoners in a tactical free-for-all.

While the game currently already benefits from a number of unique, seasonal game modes, League of Legends Teamfight Tactics appears to be the first that introduces grid-based strategy elements to its combat system. We're unsure at this stage how long this mode is going to stick around, but with most featured game modes being connected to major in-game events such as lore reveals, we wouldn't be surprised if there's a little more up Riot's sleeve here than a new way to do battle.

Riot Games announced the new Teamfight Tactics game mode via a press release earlier this week, and the mode appears to be a mix of strategy and auto-battling gameplay. Summoners will be start matches by picking from a pool of randomized champions to deploy onto a hexagonal grid where they'll face off against monsters and the champions of one other opponent, slowly picking their way through the full roster of seven opponents until only one victor is left standing. Each 1v1 is randomly decided during the game, so you'll have to make sure that you make the most of your preparation phase when you can pick your champions, items, level up, and position them smartly on the board for maximum success.


The new League of Legends Teamfight Tactics game mode is packed with a bunch of new mechanics which we haven't seen before in previous featured modes. Each champion will have unique Origins and Classes that make them more or less useful in battle against others, and they'll also be ranked by Quality — maybe this will be the way to finally sort out an official champion tierlist! The mix of auto-battling and tactics is an interesting one, though not unfamiliar to the mobile game genre. This could also potentially be a nod to the way the upcoming League of Legends mobile game will look; it appears that Tencent is currently working on one, though it may not be out this year.

With Patch 9.13 dropping on June 25 and showcasing not only the debut of League of Legends Teamfight Tactics but also the launch of the newly-announced Qiyana, it looks like there's going to be a lot of new content for Summoners to enjoy. If it's more news related to PC games that you're interested in, check out our E3 hub as we bring you the latest and greatest from the PC Gaming Show on at 10am PST on 10 June.