Riot Games’ preview of the 2025 seasonal model for League of Legends was completely overshadowed by the unpopular decision to remove free Hextech Chests. In today’s update, the team defended the decision, but promised a number of changes to improve battle passes in the future.
Riot Says the Removal of Free Hextech Chests is Necessary
As part of the 2025 season one check-in, the League of Legends team acknowledged the choice to limit Hextech Chests to just the store. For years, players were able to earn and open these chests for free, providing a way for free-to-play players to play and earn cosmetics. But earlier this year, Riot said they were doing away with free Hextech Chests, moving them to the store and forcing players to purchase them.
These changes, coupled with other unpopular changes to progression, nearly caused a revolt in the player base. Many League of Legends players threatened to boycott the game altogether. In their update today, the devs admitted that free Hextech Chests became the “primary way” for players to unlock skins, leading to a decline in purchasing skins. As a free-to-play game, League of Legends is reliant on players buying skins, and the devs insist that it’s not about increasing profits, but rather long-term sustainability.
The League of Legends team knows that these changes are unpopular, and want to remedy the removal of free Hextech Chests with improved battle pass rewards. Future battle pass skins will have more “distinct visual effects,” and unlocking a battle pass skin will also unlock the champion it’s for if the player doesn’t already own it. Battle pass missions that require players to play with purchased skins are also being removed entirely. Some of the harder battle pass missions are also being removed or reworked. Battle pass XP from Teamfight Tactics is also being doubled.
Is the removal free of Hextech Chests going to get you to buy more skins in League of Legends? Let us know down below, and join more discussions in the official GPlayr forums.
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