In the late hours of British time, a Riot Games recruiter posted a rather interesting job description on LinkedIn. The job ad specifically asked for candidates who can work on a product with cross-functional requirements, ideally creating mobile apps and working with TCGs. That sounds an awful lot like a digital client for Riftbound.

The role and post is no longer available on LinkedIn. It was likely either taken down, filled, or deliberately removed for whatever reason. The role is also not advertised on Riot’s Riftbound career  section, or other areas related to products. So do take it with a pinch of salt.

Riot is looking to hire someone for a new digital game, who is familiar and have experience with TCGs!
byu/Arkalex inriftboundtcg
Why a digital client for Riftbound could be good, and why now?

We have known for some time that the Riftbound team wanted to get something more digitally official for the game. It has a fairly complex ruling system, covering what can and cannot start chains, when they start them, and so on. In practice, the game has a lot of awkward rulings. SO much so the devs are gradually rewording and phasing out with next year’s roadmap. Riot is set to begin streamlining an awkward first year, filled with learnings for everyone involved. A digital client would naturally help players properly learn those triggers and rulings much more easily.

We also know this was something the Riftbound leads Dave and Chengran spoke about back in Spiritforged’s State of the Game. Chengran said:

“Definitely did not see this question coming! Jk. We’ve been asked about this a lot, and have discussed it a lot internally as well. After all, Riot’s games have been all digital prior to Riftbound. It is a delicate topic as there are many benefits to having a digital experience, including easier onboarding/tutorials, more clarifications around some of the card interactions. However, we all know that a key part of the TCG experience is the in-person social interaction, and we do not want that to be lost. We’re always looking for ways to improve our players’ experiences, and won’t rule out any options that can do that, including an official digital client for Riftbound.”

If the job listing is legitimate, it would indicate they have likely found a way to make the game playable digitally and officially. It also likely means they have found an approach that will not damage the local scene and physical collector aspect.

Other games have digital versions that coexist with the physical product. Pokémon has its free and ranked digital system in place. Magic: The Gathering Arena is a standalone game with pack openings players can pay for online to play the main game digitally. So there are plenty of angles the devs could go. Maybe Riot will keep it as a practice tool with proper ruling support while keeping the local scene as the primary way to play. Who knows.

The post It looks like Riftbound is getting a digital client, thanks to now deleted job posting appeared first on The Escapist.