I played League of Legends since it was a plucky indie game run by a small team, and while most things have changed over the past decade, one thing has always been consistent: League is a free game. Whether I’m on mobile or PC, I can mount and launch as many games as I want without paywalls, ads or obstacles. But everything about the game itself, especially champion cosmetics, has become increasingly expensive and annoying to manage.

Personally, I prefer to play League of Legends on mobile these days due to the shorter games and comfortable controls, but I’ve spent thousands of hours on PC. The basic system of both games is simple: you can purchase champions with IP (in-game currency) or RP (paid currency), and there is a rotating “free” roster that allows players to sample the huge assortment of champions. Most people don’t spend money on acquiring new characters. For Riot, the real money is in the skins. Skins give characters a whole new look and splash art, and sometimes new voice lines and animations.

In the first days of Leagueskins can be simple palette swaps, or the same champion in a slightly fancier shirt. In 2015, Riot released DJ Sona, an Ultimate skin with three unique models, each with their own custom soundtrack, which costs around $25. At the time, this was a surprising price compared to Legendaries, the tier below Ultimate, which cost around $14. There have been regional adjustments and changes, but the prices of Legendaries and Ultimates have remained fairly consistent over the years.

Today, in 2024, players are furious about gacha systems And limited time unlocks this cost hundreds of dollars. For example, there are two new Exalted skins – comparable to some Ultimate skins in terms of features – that can cost up to $250.

Arcane Fractured Jinx is a skin that lets you play as the three different Jinxes that emerged throughout Netflix’s game. Esoteric Adaptation of a television show. There’s also Radiant Serpent Sett, a take on the Ionian mine boss character that presents him as a cool movie star who also fights crime IRL. Exalted skins are obtained in The Sanctum, a hub that allows players to use a new currency called Ancient Sparks. Exalted skins are guaranteed after 80 draws, and Ancient Sparks cost 400 RP each, so the maximum cost of these skins is 32,000 RP, or $250 USD.

Savage Riftthe mobile port of Leaguehas become absolutely saturated with opportunities to play for skins, earn new currencies to play with, and new progression tracks and leaderboards for events that I don’t understand. None of these things affect gameplay, but they are additional systems that incentivize the player to engage in more microtransactions.

Demon Queller Yonean elaborate cosmetic with an animated start screen which is impossible to ignorerequires the player to purchase an event currency and roll the dice. Every time I open my game, I’m bombarded with pings and notifications for a new way to spend my money. In addition to the Wild Pass, which is your regular battle pass, there is subscription fees for Stellar Bonds which grants XP rewards and cosmetics in the basic ($7) or premium ($50) categories.

Then there are the Companions, little friends who follow the champion around the rift. Companions have absolutely no impact on gameplay, but they collect small chunks of currency for the player as the match progresses and can be upgraded through an unlock system.

Sometimes Riot offers a reasonable event, like a Esoteric link for Savage Rift this would have allowed me to win Jinx and Vi skins. I missed this event under the sea of ​​other notifications and ads, making it impossible to complete by the time I came across it. When I started playing Savage RiftI looked forward to the events – they were an interesting way to unlock the occasional champion or cosmetic without spending any money. Now it’s just another piece of content drip-fed through a UI that barely seems capable of handling all the timed events and sweepstakes.

Yes, I can always jump into a game of League of Legends and play for free, and it’s nice. But the surrounding costs for skins, cosmetics, and events are either confusing and off-putting or too expensive. These features are not isolated in their own corner; they’re promoted and pushed across the game’s main screen, and drown out the weekly challenges or occasional events I want to complete. Skins like DJ Sona or Elementalist Lux were once considered a sophisticated, high-tier option. Now the idea of ​​buying these same skins for just $25 seems strange.

Even though the price has increased, the technical limitations of the skins remain the same. Elementalist Lux remains the most elaborate cosmetic in the game, with 10 unique forms – the Exalted Sett and Jinx skins only offer three.

It really hurts to be a free player right now, even though I’m not as involved in the League of Legends ecosystem as I was. Savage Rift used to hand out casual skins and regular rewards for logging in or playing a few games, and now it feels like it’s written in gambling ads. League of Legends on PC is introducing two of the $250 Exalted skins, and their success will likely lead to more Exalted skins. The game itself is good, but I’m disappointed to see so much money blatantly sucking away at me.