League of Legends' hall of fame is getting its second-ever inductee - which presumably means that Riot is working out how to avoid repeating the controversy around last year's celebratory cosmetics.
After the talismanic Faker became the first arrival in the game's 'Hall of Legends' last year, Jian Zihao - better known as bot-laner Uzi - is following in his footsteps as the 2025 inductee. A giant of the domestic scene, Uzi's run of success in the hyper-competitive Chinese league was enormous, and while he may never have claimed the game's top prize, he's got several international tournament wins under his belt.
Uzi's presence within the game's community is such that the community assumed he'd be second behind Faker to arrive in the Hall of Fame. Now that that's proved to be correct, he'll be getting some rewards. Perhaps most impressive is the custom Mercedes Benz G-Class he's being gifted, but perhaps more important is the custom in-game cosmetic that will be created in his honor.
An entire in-game event was conjured to mark Faker's induction last year, and Riot is repeating that this year. In 2024, however, Faker's achievement was a little overshadowed by the fact that the full version of his honorific cosmetic cost around $450 worth of in-game currency. As Riot continues to grapple with the different expectations around in-game spending between its Eastern and Western communities, that particular announcement saw players discuss boycotts in protest over Faker's Ahri skin.
We don't yet know for sure which champions will be linked to Uzi's ascension to the Hall of Legends, but leaks suggest that they'll include Vayne - a character who Uzi personified in the trailer for the 2018 World Championship - and Kai'sa, a more recent arrival to the game who's likely to be helpful when it comes to selling skins.
We also don't know whether Riot is planning to roll out that controversial pricing again, but it's likely to find itself in a tricky spot. The past few years have seen an array of alternative monetization options, many of which have proved unpopular in some spaces but have provided new revenue streams from those willing to pay.
Riot's latest controversy saw it eventually walk back deeply unpopular changes to free loot, after claiming that it needed to encourage players to buy more if it was to continue to grow.
