League of Legends fighting game Project L still doesn't have a release date or proper title attached to it, but it won't be long before you have a chance to play it for yourself.
That's because Riot Games' Project L, which is on our radar as a potential entry to our best fighting games list, will be playable at EVO 2023. The world's largest fighting game tournament event takes place from August 3 - 6, and Project L's appearance there marks the first time the free-to-play 2v2 tag fighter has been open to the public.
The demo will be limited to just four characters: Ahri, Ekko, Darius and an as-of-yet unannounced fourth champion. So it seems that other champions confirmed for Project L, including Jinx and Illaoi, aren't quite ready for prime time just yet.
The EVO 2023 announcement follows the release of a new Project L dev diary video, in which executive producer Tom Cannon confirms that co-op play is coming to the 2v2 tag fighter. That means two players can control one character each on a team, tagging in the other player when available.
"Duo Play works a bit like tag team wrestling," explains game director Shaun Rivera, "one player controls the champ on stage, and the other waits off-screen for their teammate to find the right moment to tag them in."
Rivera goes on to confirm that Project L "will support 1v1, 2v2, and even 2v1 matchups," adding that solo players can rest assured in that they'll still be able to control both champions on their team.
Up until now, Project L has only received annual updates on the game's development progress. Now, though, having a demo available at Evo 2023 suggests the rate at which Riot Games updates excited players could start to pick up. It'd certainly be great to see the stylish fighter find a spot at EVO 2024's main stage.
For more fighting game goodness, check out our Red Bull Kumite 2023 coverage, which includes conversations with pro players and who they think Street Fighter 6's strongest characters are, and why Capcom is cracking down on Hit Box-like controllers.