Riot Games’ David ‘Phreak’ Turley has announced he is temporarily stepping away as the live designer for League of Legends to work on a secret project.
Phreak was a LoL esports commentator for 13 years, from 2009 until 2002, before joining Riot’s balance team.
Since then, he has worked on every patch and directly helped with various major changes, including five reworks, the 2023 Marksmen update, and this year’s objective changes.
With the release of each patch, Phreak would also upload a lengthy video walking through the entire patch notes and explaining why Riot had made these changes.
And in the latest video, previewing LoL Patch 26.7, Phreak revealed that he will no longer be releasing those breakdowns:
“This will be my last patch covering as a live designer.
“Late last year, I was asked if I wanted to work on a different project within League of Legends. I said yes, and then I basically built a plan for offboarding onto the project and off of live design.”
Phreak confirmed that he is still a LoL game designer, and while he wouldn’t share any details on what he’s working on, he claims LoL fans should be excited:
“I wanted to move over, I think it’s a very cool project, I think a lot of you will really love it. I’m very excited about this overall.”
What Could Phreak Be Working On?
The one major LoL project Riot has announced is ‘League Next’, a complete overhaul for the 17-year-old MOBA.
The update, set to release next year, will give the game an all-new client, an upgraded new-player experience, and a visual refresh for Summoner’s Rift.
But this is purely speculation, and what Phreak has been asked to work on could be something else entirely.
What changes would you like to see made to LoL? Let us know on the Insider Gaming Discord.
And see what else is coming to the game with this year’s LoL April Fools’ skins.
