Riot reverses paid classic skins in League of Legends Classic after player backlash

League of Legends Classic, a new mode stripping the roster back to 2013-era champions and restoring old builds and kits, hit Riot's PBE recently — and the reception was rocky almost immediately. The main flashpoint: classic skins were locked behind earned tokens or real money, while modern models and voice work were the default.

A Reddit thread from user prime_desire racked up over 6,000 upvotes calling the mode "League 'not so' Classic" and describing charging for classic skins as "genuinely wild." Riot moved fast. Within a few days, Brian "FeralPony" Feeney addressed the backlash in a video blog on July 16, confirming that all classic skins are now unlocked for every champion that has one — and made the default, replacing their modern appearances. Other Riot developers backed that up on social media, with senior VFX artist Sirhaian posting on X that "it's been fun to basically undo my years of work."

Feeney also tackled criticism of the mode's "greatest hits" design — mixing elements from multiple old patches rather than locking in one specific year. He explained that player surveys showed no consensus: everyone thought League was at its best the year after they started playing, and too old before they started. Rather than chase one era, Riot is casting a wide net. Going forward, players will be able to vote on which patches influence the mode once it moves to standard servers.

League of Legends Classic is still in PBE testing, but the quick reversal on skins has softened some of the early hostility. The community is watching closely to see how the voting system shapes the mode when it goes live.