Riot responds to backlash, says new LoL trailer ‘missed the mark’

Riot Games has responded to the backlash against the League of Legends Season 2023 cinematic trailer — called the Brink of Infinity — published this week.

“Brink of Infinity missed the mark for the action-packed, champion-led trailer you expected and has led to further speculation about our investment in League,” Riot said.

Per tradition, Riot released a video trailer to begin the new League season and hype up players about the coming updates. This year, League fans slam the developer for Season 13’s trailer and even accuse Riot of pivoting focus to its more recent title, VALORANT.

According to fans, the trailer shows a lower production quality. Unlike the previous trailers, the Brink of Infinity is not set in Runeterra and does not show the variety of events in this world. Furthermore, the trailer does not show a single League champion in their element.

The Brink of Infinity explores the Summoner’s Rift, and instead of showing actions, there is a voiceover attempting to inspire players to take on more challenges. It ends when the camera shifts to the world’s Baron Nashor pit.

Many fans expressed their disappointment in the new trailer in the comment section. The dislike count for the YouTube video also exceeded the likes. The League’s subreddit is also flooded with negative reactions toward the trailer and worries about Riot putting the game on the back burner.

Some popular League figures also took their frustration over the cinematic to social media. Necrit, the infamous “loremaster” of the League, released a video to express annoyance about the new trailer’s mediocrity.

Regarding the trailer, Riot said there were some issues during the production but did not go into detail about the “unprecedented circumstances.” In its letter to League players, Riot implied that it planned to be more transparent with players about the future direction of the League.

Riot said the community might feel it had lost interest in League because of the lack of communication the developer had with the community in the past few months. The company tried to assure players that it was not the case by hinting that it would introduce new things in the game in the coming days.

Last year, Riot announced several drastic changes to League, which involves its competitive sphere. The company has shifted competitions to weekdays, drawing criticisms from fans and popular League figures.

The 2023 season officially started on January 10. The game introduces new champions and items. New features introduced in the preseason are also fully implemented in the new season. The rank ladder goes live on January 11 and will run until this summer before the second half of the season.

Patch 13.1 buffs champions, nerf weapons

Patch 13.1 arrived in the game on January 11. Several champions see changes following the update.

Two of Jayce’s moves received damage buffs in Hammer Form. Riot has said that the new change can “help balance out his stances.” Dr. Mundo sees decreased armor growth and base health. In return, Riot buffed the champion’s Blunt Force Trauma ability.

Patch 13.1 affects several items in the game, including the Archangel’s Staff/Seraph’s Embrace combo, Horizon Focus and Rod of Ages. Overall, Riot shifts its ratios to make the weapon less dominant for champions in the fighter class.

League will also bring new skins to the game, including for the Lunar Emperor/Empress, Lunar Guardian and Prestige lines.