In advance of the game's official release next week, Riot Games' DotA-esque, team-based RTS League of Legends has entered open beta, allowing interested champions to get a jump on the official start.

Sign up for the beta on the official site. The free-to-play game enters its pre-season on Tuesday, October 27.

We have 100 League of Legends beta keys up for grabs, offering the chance to play Riot Games' Defense of the Ancient-inspired multiplayer RPG-RTS hybrid ahead of release.

To get your mitts on a key, simply be one of the first 100 people to download this League of Legends Walkthrough from FileShack. If you're in time, the e-mail address attached to your Shack account will be sent a key and instructions on how to sign up.

League of Legends will be released on October 27 in both a free-to-play version with a small selection of characters and a fuller paid version, bolstered by microtransactions.

Riot Games is soon rolling out a new map for its Defense of the Ancients-inspired game League of Legends, and we've got a somewhat magnified view of it here. Despite the sharp angles, we know that Twisted Treeline is a two-lane, two-forest map intended for a maximum of three-on-three gameplay. We know this because we played it last week.

Due to the relative smallness of the map--and the excessive... Read more

The great Shacknews League of Legends beta key giveaway of 2009 has drawn to a close, and twenty Shackers have been selected at random to win the prize of a lifetime.

The following winners can now find a League of Legends beta key sitting pretty in their Shackmessages inbox, along with instructions on how to redeem it... Read more

League of Legends is released on PC in September but twenty lucky readers will get to play early, as Riot Games has kindly given us a stack of beta keys to share with you.

Check out today's new walkthrough trailer narrated by several developers for the nitty-gritty on League of Legends, which sits in a Defense of the Ancients-inspired RTS/RPG genre so hybrid it needed a name of its own--MOBA, or multiplayer online battle arena.

For a chance to win one of twenty League of Legends beta keys, simply post a response in the comments below and we'll select our winners at random tomorrow afternoon.

League of Legends' gameplay and the newfangled 'MOBA' genre--multiplayer online battle arena, acronym addicts--are explained by the Riot Games team in a new trailer.

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Beta signups are currently open for LoL, which was inspired by popular Warcraft III custom level Defense of the Ancients and boasts a former DotA developer on its team.

League of Legends will be free to play when it arrives on PC in September, supported by micropayments for additional customisation options and a retail Collector's Edition.

Joining the ranks of other free-to-play experiments like Battlefield Heroes and Dungeons & Dragons Online, Riot Games today announced that its upcoming multiplayer title League of Legends will be entirely free.

League of Legends, an avatar-based RTS modeled on the Warcraft III mod Defense of the Ancients, is faced with competing against several similar titles, in addition to the free mod that inspired them.

While the game will be free to play, there will be some monetized aspects. Riot Points will be available for purchase, and can be spent to further customize character visuals, though this customization will not affect gameplay. The company will also offer a Collector's Pack that contains exclusive items for $30 when the game is released in September.

More details on Riot Points and Collector's Pack below:... Read more

The latest trailer for Riot Games' upcoming multiplayer title League of Legends showcases a number of the game's unique heroes.

Created by former developers of the Warcraft 3 mod Defense of the Ancients, League is directly inspired by the mod, offering a similar brand of gameplay along with a few new persistent elements.

League of Legends was recently scheduled for a September release on PC.

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Developer Riot Games has detailed another dueo of playable champions in its DotA-styled action-RTS League of Legends, releasing a batch of screens in the process.

Archer Ashe uses frozen arrows to slow attacking foes, while "battle mistress" Sivir uses a four-bladed weapon for ranged combat.

League of Legends arrives on the PC later this year.

Riot Games has unveiled another two members of the League of Legends, providing new screenshots and surreal biographies for brawler Jax and ranged figher Teemo.

League of Legends is inspired by--and features developers from--the Warcraft III mod Defense of the Ancients, in which players control a single avatar amidst a giant battle.

In true DotA style, the characters have bizarre backgrounds--Jax is so deadly the League bars him from wielding much more than a lamppost or spatula, and captain of the Bantam City Scouts Teemo has come to introduce scouting skills as a form of combat.

League of Legends: Clash of Fates is set to arrive on PC later this year.

A crisp batch of League of Legends: Clash of Fates shows off its twinkly snow level.

League of Legends is inspired by popular Warcraft III mod Defense of the Ancients, where players level up a single avatar amongst a giant battle of smaller armies.

Developer Riot Games' team includes some of the people behind DotA and certainly appears to be following nicely in its wonderful, wonderful footsteps.

League of Legends: Clash of Fates is due to be released on PC later this year.

Riot Games today announced League of Legends, a PC game based on the popular Warcraft 3 multiplayer mod Defense of the Ancients.

Riot was co-founded by original DotA Allstars co-creator Guinsoo, and the team reportedly includes other DotA veterans. As such, League of Legends is staying true to the DotA formula, where players level up a single avatar amongst a giant battle of smaller armies. Dozens of Summoners--the player-controlled avatars--are planned to be available at launch.

A semi-persistent element will be see the Summoners leveling up across matches. The game will also include matchmaking, stat tracking, clan support... Read more