League of Legends: Riot is finally launching Middle Eastern (MENA) Servers

Five years ago, Riot hinted at the potential release of a LoL MENA servers. and with the first edition of the Esports World Cup scheduled for June-August in Saudi Arabia, it appears that Arab players are finally going to receive their servers.

The Wait Is Almost Over 

League of Legends Skins from the Guardians of the Sand Universe. Credit: Riot Games

Imagine having to connect to a server in a different continent every time you want to play your favorite game.

For fifteen years, this has been true for Middle Eastern players who have been forced to rely on European and North American servers, battling with high latency and connectivity issues.

In late March 2024, Riot Games announced that their long-standing initiative to establish a dedicated LoL MENA server is nearing completion.

A localized host would herald a new era of gaming for Arabic players, allowing them to experience this global phenomenon called League of Legends free of constraints. Among other things, the release of this server will:

• Improve connectivity
• Allow smoother gameplay
• Enhance the responsiveness of the game
• Improve matchmaking 
• Encourage old and new players to give League of Legends a chance

The significance of a localized server extends beyond the realms of esports. It has already sparked discussions among individuals and groups from diverse backgrounds about the impact on the future of gaming in the region.

The announcement of the annual Esports World Cup in Riyadh was the first step in this positive direction.

One way or another, it influenced game developers like Riot to open their eyes to the opportunities in this region.

Local players will have even more to boast about once Riot introduces the new League of Legends MENA server.

The company announced that it is developing new region-specific features that will enhance the experience for MENA players even further.

These include the option to have the entire game in Arabic, including champion voiceovers, as well as a brand-new interface that is operational with the right-to-left Arabic writing system.

When Will The LoL MENA Server Launch? 

Unfortunately, Riot's announcement came without an official launch date.

Of course, uncertainty is the foundation of gossip, and in less than a week, we've heard rumors about multiple release dates.

After narrowing down the rumors to the most plausible scenarios, there seem to be only two logical options.

Since Riot didn’t mention any official ETA, the new server will most probably be released at the start of Season 15.

But why would they announce it now only to have players wait another 7-8 months?

With the Esports World Cup kicking off in late June, wasn’t this an unmissable opportunity to boost the interest by giving local players their own server?
 

Teams from the Arabian League

There is a real chance that Arabic players will be playing on their localized server sometime in June but it may be a better idea to postpone the launch until the end of the season.

The long years of anticipation will materialize in higher expectations and Riot cannot afford to release an unstable server. 

Community Talk: Excitement vs Skepticism 

With the long list of changes and improvements in favor of Arabic players, it is difficult to stand against the release of the LoL MENA server. But every widely accepted positive initiative has its restless skeptics. 

On paper, a new server can cause serious shifts in the player bases of the older regions that have hosted gamers from the Middle East.

With the game being almost 15 years old, there are large communities of Arabic players on all European servers (EUNE, EUW, and TR).

As expected, most of these players will most likely want to transfer their accounts to the MENA server.

Riot is yet to state the transfer cost to the new server, but there is a good chance that they will announce a discounted period that will influence even more players to try out the Arabic version of League of Legends.

Logically, skeptics also question Riot's capabilities to ensure the stability of the new server once hundreds of thousands of players log in or create new accounts shortly after launch.

Regardless of the positives and negatives, the introduction of a new LoL MENA server is a key step in shaping the future of gaming in the region as the Middle East embraces esports as a growing form of entertainment