Following the hotly contested debacle surrounding the removal and eventual reinstatement of Hextech Chests in League of Legends, one creative fan made a 48-second animation recreating a famous battle within the game’s lore.
The animation, which was made by a single creator on YouTube named Yaroslav Zaytsev, has quickly garnered just under 45,000 views and will probably amass plenty more. The cinematic takes place in Ionia, where the war-mongering, expansionist, and in this case capitalistic, nation of Noxus has been replaced by Riot Games’ headquarters. The innocent people of Ionia no longer wear traditional armor, and are instead decked out in Hextech Chests as they prepare to fight for the honor and reinstation of this free monetary system.
In the video, a Hextech Key opens a massive floating chest, bestowing a brave and valiant warrior with the famous Shamrock Malphite skin. As this Hextech samurai looks at Riot headquarters on the horizon, a massive army of warriors prepares to battle against the company’s sustainability initiatives.
The cinematic also features an edited version of the song that played during this year’s official League cinematic trailer, with no AI involved in the editing. Amazingly, the creator was able to isolate certain vocals to make the entire song about opening Hextech Chests and receiving skins.
The short cinematic has generated a fantastic reception from viewers, as gamers aren’t too pleased with Riot currently. Angry players have banned together online by posting underneath all League social media posts, so it’s no surprise that everyone is enjoying this hilarious and over-the-top fan cinematic.
Many viewers are praising this animator, with one fan stating, “This has unironically more effort put to it than Riot’s official animation called Brink of Infinity.” The Brink of Infinity cinematic famously came out in 2023 and featured an empty Summoner’s Rift, generating a similar style of backlash from the community. Other viewers are calling the fan-made cinematic “the greatest shit post of all time” because of the sheer amount of work and effort that went into its production.
The video was also shared on the League subreddit, where the post generated even more buzz within the community. “Riot was quick to give us our chests back before this dropped.” One user shared, jokingly insinuating that the higher-ups at Riot were afraid of the true power of this animation. Interestingly, the creator posted on his YouTube that employees at Riot have seen the video, meaning that the cinematic was viewed in some capacity at the company.
While the cinematic itself came out just after Riot decided to reinstate Hextech Chests, this still shows that gamers can successfully band together and fight for what they believe is fair and just.
Until the next controversy, let’s keep up the good fight for the sanctity of Hextech Chests and fair monetization systems everywhere.
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