Since the launch of the Esports community, Riot has always had a structured champion release schedule for League of Legends (LoL). In addition, the publisher frequently provides updates for champions to adjust, rework, or balance those who are too strong or too weak, whether they are top picks or have “fallen out of favor.”
Of course, not all of Riot’s adjustments have proven effective. The new champions released by Riot do not always capture the community’s interest or excitement. Take Zeri, for example – a champion introduced at the beginning of 2022 but has undergone 12 adjustments. Meanwhile, Bel’Veth – a champion thought to be very strong, is currently not favored due to its high difficulty and incompatibility with the current playstyle in professional tournaments.
However, according to Leung-Harrison – who has recently been promoted to head of the game balancing department at Riot, in the future, at a time when the publisher feels it is appropriate, Riot will no longer release new champions. Leung-Harrison explained that Riot is creating many champions that are not very intuitive and are hard for new players to approach.
He cited the case of Thresh as an example. He believes that new players would feel very confused if a champion with a hook like Thresh throws a skill and it passes through the enemy instead of hooking them. Or in the case of Gwen. Leung-Harrison noted that new players would find it difficult to visualize Gwen’s skill set and movement, which could lead them to abandon League of Legends.
However, another Riot employee – Ryan Mireles, lead designer of League of Legends, stated that the time when Riot stops releasing new champions is still a long way off. According to him, the development team still wants to create more new champions. “Once you’ve learned the game and mastered the champions, it can become quite boring. Each new champion created brings a new playstyle, which is also how we ensure that each champion has its own unique gameplay.”
Therefore, players can rest assured that in the near future, Riot will continue to release new champions and rework the skills of old champions to serve the players. As for when this publisher will stop releasing new champions, it may still be a very, very long time away, and perhaps even Riot itself cannot determine that yet.