Why League of Legends Fans Are Roasting the 2023 Season Cinematic
Fans of the popular multiplayer online game League of Legends weren't happy with Riot Games' latest annual cinematic. And that's why.
Cinematic trailers are one of the best ways for video game developers to promote the release of their new game, expansion, or season, especially for a game as popular as League of Legends around the world. For each new season in the online multiplayer game, a new cinematic trailer is released to keep players interested. Many of these trailers, especially for last year's 2022 season, are epic and do a great job of translating the franchise's unique lore and mythology into cinematic form.
However, the same cannot be said for the cinematic trailer for the 2023 season. There are no massive battles, no epic musical score playing in the background, and definitely no showcase of champions for players to play as. Instead, fans were given two minutes of vague narration about what looks like a drone view of the game's world. It ends with the slogan "Make Your Mark" without going into much detail about what it actually means.
Fans took to social media to express their disappointment
Needless to say, fans were unhappy with what they saw, expressing their “fee” on Twitter and in the comments section of YouTube videos, scolding the developers at Riot Games for thinking it was a good idea. These criticisms are basically the same, calling the trailer boring and not showcasing any of the game's characters or showing any catchy music. The latter is particularly disappointing for the franchise, known for its collaborations with artists such as 2WEI и Imagine Dragons. They are also known for creating their own musical groups such as Pentakill и K / DA.
Some tweets and comments went even further and suggested that the trailer is a sign that Riot Games doesn't really care anymore. League of Legends and that the developers are abandoning the longtime players who made the game as big as it is. It's hard to make that assessment based on the trailer alone, so it's likely just another case of video game developers out of touch with their fans.
Riot Games reaction to criticism
Riot Games acknowledged the criticism in a Twitter thread, apologizing to fans for the disappointing cinematography. The tweets explained that the trailer's direction was due to "unprecedented circumstances" that forced them to "take an alternative approach." None of the tweets explain exactly what circumstances led to the lackluster cinematography. Instead, the tweets are just making some general statements confirming Riot's commitment. League of Legends and promising greater transparency.
A video game company admitting its mistakes is always a good thing, but vague promises to do better don't always work, and of course it didn't make any difference when looking at the replies on the Twitter thread. Is this lackluster cinematography an omen that dooms the franchise League of Legendsremains to be seen, but this brief controversy is definitely not the best way for the franchise to start the new year.