A new gacha-style change is coming to League of Legends from Aug. 30 with the arrival of new Cosmic capsules, and in response, players are warning Riot Games if these changes hit the servers, they won’t be spending money on League ever again.
Capsules in League have always been a hot topic for players as they are sometimes valuable purchases, and other times, they’re best left unpurchased. Things have only got worse on that front today too after a PBE datamine revealed the game’s next capsules, coming in the 2023 Cosmic event, have a very gacha-like element to them.
These capsules are designed to give players a small chance to obtain a Dark Cosmic Erasure Jhin skin—and it’s actually the only way to get this particular cosmetic.
The outcry has been immediate, with players saying they were happy enough to buy event passes and even capsules when they were worth the money, but will now have to think twice after these “predatory monetization strategies” have popped up. Things have gotten so bad that some have even begun dubbing this year “the worst League season ever.”
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Although this isn’t a new concept—TFT has had it for some time in the form of Treasure Realms—the fact it’s now rolling out to the mainline game has led to players saying they’re going to boycott everything Riot sells from now on.
Others want to take it one step further too, suggesting governments look to bring regulations in to crack down on what basically equals to gambling in gaming.
I think it’s a shame many companies are turning to more gacha monetization methods, especially in League where fans are more than happy to fork out for skins for their beloved ‘mains,’ but it’s not necessarily surprising.
Riot has yet to respond to this growing ‘gacha’ backlash.