According to the game's director, the $500 League of Legends Ahri skin wasn't meant for the average fan, but instead 'players who are willing to spend $200 a month on their hobbies'

GamesMOBALeague of LegendsAccording to the game’s director, the $500 League of Legends Ahri skin wasn’t meant for the average fan, but instead ‘players who are willing to spend $200 a month on their hobbies’When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Riot)

Special Faker Immortal Ahri skin

Riot recently came under fire as League of Legends fans pushed back against its introduction ofa cosmetic that cost up to $500. The skin was made to celebrate renowned League player Faker for being the first person inducted into Riot’s new Hall of Legends, but lots of players were upset that the price barred so many from celebrating the momentous occasion.

Since then, we talked to the game director, Pu Liu during a Q&A at Summer Games Fest, where the issue of sky-high cosmetics prices became the topic of discussion, and from the sound of things, the company doesn’t want to make a habit of it.

“I think there are people who are very upset about [the Ahri skin],” Liu says. “And I also think it’s kind of justified because when you have a 14-year-old product that starts doing new things that are expensive, when [players] are used to everything living under a certain price point, all of a sudden, it can be kind of jarring.” But that still doesn’t explain why it was so expensive. After the controversy League of Legendsreleased a videoaddressing the complaints where a couple of devs explained the price tag was to cover the costs of esports and celebrate iconic pro players.

The pricing for the majority of League’s bundles and skins isn’t outrageous. The Champions Bundle costs 3,410 in-game currency, which is $35/£35, while the Digital Collector’s Pack is 2,520 ($20/£20). While it’s not cheap, it does sit around the same ballpark price that many games charge for cosmetics like Overwatch and Valorant. This doesn’t mean that cosmetics that go for upwards of $20 should be free from scrutiny, but these prices also aren’t very surprising.

Riot has also made it clear that the skins it sells are purely cosmetic, “[League] is competitively orientated, we only sell cosmetics, we don’t want anything that even infringes upon pay to win or pay for power,” Liu says. But sometimes a cosmetic skin can inadvertently provide a marginal improvement. There’s been Frostfire Annie, who could become barely visible when her stun was up, Eternum Nocturne was too different from the original skin, and its particles were as bright as the sun, and Super Galaxy Rumble was just too obnoxious for anyone to enjoy. All of these skins have been banned from pro-play, but this is still a rare issue.

(Image credit: Riot)

Characters preparing to fight on a battlefield

“The vast majority of our players each year play League, they watch esports, they enjoy all the content, all the music, all the cinematics, and they do this at zero dollars,” Liu says. “So the vast majority of players spend $0 on a free play game. As a consequence of that, the majority of our revenue comes from a small, single-digit percentage of players.”

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

There’s actually such a thing as having too high of a percentage of your players spending.game director, Pu Liu

There’s actually such a thing as having too high of a percentage of your players spending.

“What we really think about, on the morality side, is that there are players who are willing to spend $200 a month on their hobbies,” Liu continues. “God knows how much I’ve spent on Warhammer figures. But it’s really important that we capture that willingness and that ability to spend.”

Adults can spend whatever they want on their hobbies, that’s not really the issue players had with the recent Ahri skin debacle. While there was a cheaper option for the Faker celebration skin available at $40, this price still locked a lot of fans out of buying the cosmetic. “Almost every League player loves Faker, and we would have loved to own the Ahri skin dedicated to him,” a fan sayson Reddit. “Riot putting the full skin behind a [$500] paywall is the biggest insult imaginable to us. Riot chose to exploit our love for Faker for their own gain.” So, in this case, Riot may have cast the net a bit wide when it comes to catching whales.

Liu actually says it best: “If a lot of people that didn’t have a history of spending on League, all of a sudden buy the signature bundle, we’d be like, ‘Oh God, what have we done’? But if these people historically have spent money on skins, [new bundles] give them a new avenue to support the esports ecosystem with a 30% [revenue] share. We believe that there’s actually such a thing as having too high of a percentage of your players spending in a free-to-play game because that means your free-to-play experience relative to your paid experiences is not good enough.”

More about moba

Vindicta standing next to a shop

Mel from Arcane stares, contemplatively, in a new trailer for Season 1 of League of Legends 2025.

League of Legends’ new season trailer is basically an epilogue to Arcane with 6 new Fortiche champion redesigns in it—so if it’s not a preview of the upcoming Noxus show, I’ll eat my hat

LatestI tried a sim racing rig that generates ‘wind’ at CES 2025 and it’s claimed to help keep VR nausea at baySee more latest►

Latest

I tried a sim racing rig that generates ‘wind’ at CES 2025 and it’s claimed to help keep VR nausea at bay

Nitro Concepts CES 2025 booth with a sim racing rig that offered wind simulation from twin fans near the wheelbase.

I tried a sim racing rig that generates ‘wind’ at CES 2025 and it’s claimed to help keep VR nausea at bay

See more latest►

Most PopularAll Zenless Zone Zero 1.5 livestream codesAsus reveals three new Slash Travel Bags for carting around your ROG Ally—however, none of them are particularly fashion forwardToday’s Wordle answer for Friday, January 10We may not have a roadmap or balance patch just yet, but at least Path of Exile 2’s bugfix patch notes are funnyDeus Ex: Mankind Divided writer didn’t like the ending either: ‘Nothing is resolved’It seems like Square’s finally consistently taking the PC ports of Final Fantasy seriouslyLike a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii looks more like a zany RGG take on Black Flag than I dared hopeThe most important tool in Remedy’s new co-op FPS is the shower: ‘Saving water is essential’If you missed it over the holidays, this noir Half-Life 2 mod turns you into a hardboiled detective in Prohibition-era ChicagoPath of Exile 2 players are calling foul on Elon Musk’s high-level hardcore character after he streams his struggles with core game mechanicsAlan Emrich, the game designer and writer who coined the term ‘4X,’ has died

Most Popular

All Zenless Zone Zero 1.5 livestream codes

Asus reveals three new Slash Travel Bags for carting around your ROG Ally—however, none of them are particularly fashion forward

Today’s Wordle answer for Friday, January 10

We may not have a roadmap or balance patch just yet, but at least Path of Exile 2’s bugfix patch notes are funny

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided writer didn’t like the ending either: ‘Nothing is resolved’

It seems like Square’s finally consistently taking the PC ports of Final Fantasy seriously

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii looks more like a zany RGG take on Black Flag than I dared hope

The most important tool in Remedy’s new co-op FPS is the shower: ‘Saving water is essential’

If you missed it over the holidays, this noir Half-Life 2 mod turns you into a hardboiled detective in Prohibition-era Chicago

Path of Exile 2 players are calling foul on Elon Musk’s high-level hardcore character after he streams his struggles with core game mechanics

Alan Emrich, the game designer and writer who coined the term ‘4X,’ has died

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals