Vainglory

Gameplay and Core Mechanics

Vainglory is a team-based MOBA where two sides of three or five players battle across interconnected lanes and a jungle to destroy the enemy base, protected by a Vain crystal. Players control a hero from a roster that grew to 56 characters, each with distinct abilities and roles balanced for fair play. Matches involve managing minion waves, securing jungle objectives like the Kraken, and destroying defensive turrets lining the lanes.

The game features a ranked mode using an Elo-based system to match players of similar skill, where rank points increase with wins. Mastery points are earned by playing heroes, unlocking visual stars once certain thresholds are reached, with bonuses awarded in Standard 3v3 and 5v5 matches. Communication tools evolved through updates, starting with team emoticons and strategic pings, later adding static chat lines, party voicechat, and finally in-game text chat. Control schemes began with touch but later incorporated an optional joystick and, for PC, keyboard and mouse support.

Development and Platform Evolution

Development began in 2012 when Super Evil Megacorp was founded in San Mateo, California by veterans from Rockstar, Riot, Blizzard, and Insomniac. The goal was to create a multiplayer online battle arena game specifically for tablet devices. Apple selected the unfinished game to demonstrate the graphics capabilities of the iPhone 6 and its Metal API at the device's September 2014 announcement event. After a six-month soft launch, Vainglory officially released on iOS in November 2014.

The company's leadership, including COO Kristian Segerstrale, believed tablets were an inherently social platform ideal for multiplayer play and aimed for Vainglory to be a game players would organize their lives around, not just a casual pastime. They viewed it as a reinvention of the LAN party experience. An Android version followed in July 2015 after a closed beta. A major 5v5 mode, long in development, launched in February 2018. Cross-platform play was a fundamental feature, culminating in a full desktop release on Steam in 2019, allowing PC and Mac users to play with mobile players.

In April 2020, following an announcement that development would cease and servers would be transferred to the community, the game's future became uncertain. This community-led model, described as client authoritative, meant no centralized updates and reduced services, but allowed for community-run balance adjustments and APIs. As of March 2023, the community still awaited the full server software, though a sole developer had begun working with players on potential patches.

Heroes, Progression, and In-Game Economy

Players begin with a rotating weekly selection of free heroes and can permanently unlock others using Glory, earned through normal play and missions, or ICE, a premium currency purchasable with real money that could also be rarely earned in-game. Character customization is achieved through skins, which alter a hero's appearance. Skins can be acquired directly with ICE or crafted using blueprints gathered from the Market or quests, along with Essence obtained from reward chests. Special Edition skins required Opals, found in chests or purchase bundles.

For its faster-paced Brawl modes, Blitz and Battle Royale, Vainglory introduced Talents, hero-specific upgrades. Each hero had three tiers of talents, Rare, Epic and Legendary, with 168 different talents in total by 2020. These could be upgraded multiple times using Glory, with Rare talents upgradable 20 times, Epic 10 times, and Legendary 5 times. The game's economy also included chests rewarded for completing specific actions, like winning five games, providing another avenue to obtain currencies. Reviewers considered this system very fair and not pay-to-win.

The Esports Ambition and Competitive Structure

From its inception, Super Evil Megacorp intended for Vainglory to become an esport. This vision was supported by early partnerships with major tournament organizers. The European Electronic Sports League announced the Vainglory Cup, a set of competitions, for June 2015. This partnership was expanded in Summer 2017 with the organization of structured regional leagues like Vainglory 8 in North America and Europe.

These competitions provided a professional pathway for top players and teams, leveraging the game's strategic depth. The company's CBO, Bo Daly, contrasted the often solitary experience of PC MOBAs with their vision for Vainglory as a shared social experience, aiming to capture the spirit of a LAN party in a modern, cross-platform format. The esports ecosystem helped establish the game's reputation as a serious competitive title, though its organized scale diminished following the 2020 development changes.

Artistic Direction and Critical Reception

Vainglory's artwork was produced by a team directed by Carlo Chainsaw Arellano. The game's visual and character design was consistently highlighted by critics, who praised its graphics and the fun, detailed designs of the heroes. The Guardian named it the best iOS game of 2014, and it received an Apple Design Award in 2015.

Reviewers noted it successfully adapted the complex MOBA genre for mobile by smartly trimming features in the right areas, creating a scaled down but not scaled back version. IGN's Mitch Dyer reported match lengths around 21 minutes, but noted games could become lopsided, especially when the Kraken jungle creature appeared at the 15-minute mark, and that in-person team communication provided a significant advantage. Points of criticism included the initial lack of robust team communication tools and, for some reviewers, a steep learning curve for new players without organized teams. Despite this, it was often described as probably the best MOBA on iOS at its peak.

Community and Post-Development Evolution

Player interaction was a key part of Vainglory's development, with the team inviting feedback through live streams on Twitch. After the 2020 announcement that Rogue Games would stop development and NetEase would shut down the Chinese version, Super Evil Megacorp outlined a plan to transfer server authority to the community. This model removed expensive centralized servers and halted official updates, but promised long-term server stability and opportunities for community-led balance changes and APIs.

The transition was slow. By March 2023, the community was still waiting for the necessary server software, though the original developers continued to run a limited version of the game. A sole developer from the team began collaborating with the community in early 2023, proposing the first potential patch list in nearly two years. This period followed the release of Super Evil Megacorp's next project, Catalyst Black, a cross-platform battleground shooter announced in April 2020.