Lenovo quietly killed off its Legion gaming smartphones

Ben Schoon | Mar 28 2023 - 6:09 pm PT

Gaming smartphones have grown in popularity over the past few years, but they’re still a niche in the larger smartphone market. This week, Lenovo confirmed it has thrown in the towel on gaming smartphones, with the “Legion” series no longer available.

Following a rumor posted on social media, Lenovo directly confirmed to Android Authority that it was pulling the plug on its Legion gaming smartphones. The company explains:

Lenovo is discontinuing its Android-based Legion mobile gaming phones as part of a wider business transformation and gaming portfolio consolidation. As a leader in gaming devices and solutions, Lenovo is committed to advancing the gaming category across form factors, as well as focusing on where it can bring the most value to the global gaming community.

The decision comes as a bit of a surprise, but makes sense to an extent. Lenovo has released two gaming-focused Legion devices to date, but rumors and leaks have been non-existent regarding a 2023 follow-up.

Lenovo first introduced Legion smartphones in 2020, with the original Legion offering a pretty compelling package for mobile gaming including a 144Hz display, two haptic motors, and of course RGB lighting effects. The second Legion, the Duel 2, launched in the first half of 2021 with a new landscape-mounted pop-up camera, as well as updated specs and a new design. That same year there was a leak of the “Lenovo Legion Play,” an Android-powered handheld, but the device was canceled before seeing an official reveal or release.

None of Lenovo’s Legion-branded devices were sold in the United States, instead mostly focusing on markets in Asia.

There’s no word on how many employees this affects and whether or not Lenovo’s “wider business transformation and gaming portfolio consolidation” affects the company’s Legion lineup of gaming laptops, but it’s probably safe to say those devices are safe. It’s also unclear if continued support will be offered for existing models.