LoL Devs Commit to Removing Hextech Chests Despite Player Backlash

Despite widespread backlash from players over the removal of Hextech Chests in League of Legends, Riot Games has reinforced its stance in a newly released developer video, making it clear that the decision is final.

Hextech Chests, a loot box system introduced in 2016, allowed players to earn random in-game cosmetics, including skins, champions, and emotes, by achieving high performance in matches or purchasing keys with in-game currency. The system provided a free-to-earn alternative to directly buying skins, making it a popular feature among players.

“As a free to play game, skins are the primary way League pays its bills. They’re what give us the ability to continue to develop the game,” Paul Bellezza, Executive Producer at Riot Games, shared in the Season 1 dev update.

“When we initially added them, we wanted to offer additional reward for time spent using something we knew many of you really cared about earning: skins. And for a while, we think that worked well for both players and the business side of League,” the devs said, implying that it is no longer fiscally beneficial for League of Legends.

The company’s motto is “We are player-led, not product-led,” a principle they claim to stand by. Though many players may say otherwise, especially in light of the death of Hextech Chets, Riot very actively listens to their playbase, catering a large portion of their update cycle according to what the players’ vocalize. They frequently revert previous in-game elements after overwhelming feedback, but this time around, Riot is sticking to their guns. 

Riot Games creates massively successful artistic collaborations, showcased through K/DA and Arcane’s widespread popularity. But despite such successes, the transparency regarding financial stress is not coming out of the blue. The gaming industry as a whole is going through a massive shift, which is resulting in a high volume of industry-wide layoffs. Riot had a massive wave of layoffs last year, and it is very possible they are attempting to avoid that from happening again.