Ruined King: The Best Way to Keep Arcane's Runeterra Flame Alive in 2026

In 2026, the dust from Arcane's final season has settled, but the hunger for Runeterra has not. One fan watched the first season twice, attended Secret Cinema's live event Enter The Undercity in Los Angeles, and even dabbled in League of Legends for a weekend. It still was not enough. Then he found Ruined King: A League of Legends Story, the turn-based RPG that first launched in 2021, and it became the perfect way to keep the Arcane hype alive. He plowed through its 30-hour campaign in a week just to soak up as much Runeterra as possible. And he does not even like turn-based RPGs. Or reading. Honestly, that says something.

Before anyone gets their hopes up, Ruined King does not take place in Piltover and Zaun. It does not feature Vi, Jinx, Caitlyn, or Jayce. It is set in a totally different corner of Runeterra: the pirate city of Bilgewater and the nearby Shadow Isles. As much as an Arcane RPG would have been welcome right after the show ended, there is something refreshing about exploring a new part of League's lore. Bilgewater's salt-crusted docks groan under every boot. The Black Mist curls through alleys like a living thing, whispering promises it never keeps. Runeterra itself becomes a character, sprawling and stubborn, full of stories that do not need a familiar face to matter.

Set after the League of Legends storyline Burning Tides, Ruined King follows pirate queen Miss Fortune and a party of adventurers. Their mission is to uncover the source of a mysterious dark force called the Black Mist. No prior knowledge is required. Just like Arcane, Ruined King uses characters, locations, and history from League as a foundation, but tells its own story. Knowing the lore definitely enhances the experience, but it is not necessary. Everything important is summarized in gorgeous animated cutscenes. For those who want to dig deeper, there are plenty of lore collectibles to find. No wiki is needed, honestly.

Ruined King is the first Riot Forge game, developed by Airship Syndicate. That is the studio behind Darksiders Genesis and Battle Chasers: Nightwar. Anyone who has played Battle Chasers knows exactly what to expect here, both aesthetically and in combat. Gameplay is split between two modes. In the overworld, the player explores several locations, meets characters, solves puzzles, and completes quests. In combat, players leverage the skills and abilities of three party members to take on hundreds of enemies. Rogue pirates, automatons, wraith-like Mistwalkers, and sea monsters all want a piece of the party. As the story progresses, Miss Fortune recruits new heroes. Each one has their own story and their own reason for venturing into the Black Mist.

The backstories and the relationships that form between the characters are the heart of Ruined King. They are the sole reason the campaign can be blazed through so quickly. The core narrative is not nearly as nuanced or engaging as Arcane's. In fact, it is pretty straightforward and predictable once the player understands who the villains are and what they want. Look, the plot will not win a Pulitzer. But it still delivers plenty of Arcane-esque feelings, especially in the small moments when the party members are just getting to know each other. Every time the party rests at a campfire to restore health, a short scene unfolds. Two characters socialize, trade stories, and reveal new things about Runeterra. The campfire crackles, the night stretches, and the world gets a little bigger. Some nights, that is enough. More than enough.

While the game takes place in and around Bilgewater, the heroes come from all over Runeterra. Braum hails from the snowy Freljord. Ahri and Yasuo come from the isolationist, nature-worshipping land of Ionia. Those regions have their own histories, cultures, customs, and value systems. Watching the characters learn to relate to each other and celebrate those differences is the best part of the experience. Conflict and culture clash drove the plot in Arcane, and Ruined King zooms out further. It shows just how diverse and complex Runeterra is. The result is a road trip through a world that feels lived-in, dangerous, and worth saving.

In 2026, the landscape looks different. Arcane has concluded. Riot Forge has closed its doors, so no new games are coming from that label. The long-promised League of Legends MMO is still a shimmer on the horizon. That makes Ruined King a strange kind of treasure: a complete, self-contained adventure that already exists. It is not a live-service grind. It is not waiting for a roadmap. It is a 30-hour journey with a beginning, a middle, and an end. For anyone who misses Arcane's emotional punch, its messy alliances, and its gorgeous world, Ruined King is the best way to delve deeper.

So if the final season left a hole in a fan's heart, rewatching the same episodes again is not the only option. The call is simple: set sail for Bilgewater, light a campfire, and let the Black Mist roll in. The world of Runeterra is wider than Piltover and Zaun, and Ruined King is still one of the best ways to feel it breathing.