For just months after coming on Steam, League of Legends was purchasable at the platform—a history that, if not changed, could have rewritten the present about MOBA gaming differently as we know it.
Back in 2010 when DOTA 2 is still inexistent and that Riot Games have made their own rendition of a MOBA title in the form of League of Legends, the game was available through Steam.
Basically a small company at the time, Riot Games struggled in marketing their game to a large audience, particularly through an attempt to sell it on retail stores.
Launching the game as a self-hosted free-to-play title with micro-transactions was also out of the choices—or at least, not considered—for the company at the time.
The most logical of options, therefore, would be Valve’s Steam which, during those days, had gained momentum and had entrenched itself as a viable source for download-only digital games.
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One consumer from Europe even attests to the fact by telling an instance of the tale. He claimed that it was indeed available on Steam back in 2020 which, for 20 Euros, gives the Collector’s Edition. When bought, the purchase grants the full client of the game as well as some excusive in-game inclusions such as 20 heroes, a Goth Annie skin, and some runes.
Adding to the surprise, those who did manage to buy the game when it released on Steam will still find it in their library and can even play it—but at a caveat that there is only a handful of players in the server at any given time, which is expected as the game has fully transitioned away from the platform.