Riot Games addresses the decline in free skins in the latest League of Legends dev diary
On February 7, 2025 — Riot Games (Riot) shared a ‘check-in’ video about the current season and money issues in League of Legends. The video starts with Andrei Van Roon, head of League Studio, and Paul Bellezza, the executive producer, talking about the new season format, which has shifted to focus more on lore.
They also talked about Hextech Chests and skins, which have sparked debate due to costly gacha mechanics and fears of missing out. Hextech Chests were rewards given to players, allowing them to unlock free skins.
Riot quietly pulls out these chests, causing a strong reaction from fans. In the developer (dev) update, Van Roon stated that free chests became the main way to get skins, allowing many players to build large skin collections without paying. He noted that while this created a ‘great player experience’, it was not sustainable in the long term.
Though Hextech Chests are no longer available, Riot plans to make up for this with Battle Passes in Season 2, featuring unique visual effects and model changes to skins. Riot believes this will enhance their value as a reward.
