Since the introduction of League of Legends: Wild Rift, Riot has almost always shown “special favoritism” towards this mobile platform game. Of course, it is easy to understand that Riot cannot repeat the mistakes made in the PC version. However, while LoL on PC only receives regular updates and changes, Wild Rift boasts a feature that many LoL fans envy: its exclusive skin system.
Notably, these skins are often much more beautiful than the skins from the PC version, with notable examples including the Astrologer group or the recently released 5 Mythic skins launched simultaneously in Wild Rift for the Lunar New Year 2023. Moreover, the character release process in Wild Rift follows a pattern where new champions from the PC version appear first, before eventually making their way back to include all champions. This clearly shows that Riot is focusing more on Wild Rift compared to PC, despite the fact that LoL remains the publisher’s “golden egg.”
Recently, on social media Reddit, some LoL players expressed their frustration when Vex in Wild Rift received a total of 3 exclusive skins since her debut in this mobile version. Meanwhile, if we exclude her default skin and the launch skin, Vex has only received one additional skin, thus still falling short compared to her counterpart in Wild Rift.
Interestingly, this post has also attracted much attention from neutral players. According to some opinions, creating skins for the Wild Rift version does not require as much effort as for PC (the PC version requires high graphic effects, VFX, etc.). Furthermore, the mobile game market is a vast and highly competitive landscape. Therefore, it is understandable that Riot needs to put more effort into capturing market share.
However, there are also some opinions stating that no one would be envious of Wild Rift if Riot did not excessively “favor” this version. One player even asserted: “Not only the skin design but even the basic champion design is better. It’s strange that a mobile version game has better designs than its PC counterpart.”
Riot’s policy clearly shows a certain focus on Wild Rift. And perhaps, PC LoL players have to “live with it,” especially when their game has entered its 14th season and can now be considered a “veteran” title.