Thousands of League of Legends players ask for Riot Games CEO Dylan Jadeja to step down, as they feel like his leadership is steering the game away from its player-first roots. A petition on Change.org has gathered over 50,000 signatures and continues to climb daily.
This call for the immediate removal of Riot Games’ CEO comes from a series of unpopular decisions under Jadeja’s leadership, ranging from mass layoffs to aggressive monetization tactics—and League of Legends players have had enough.
Profits over player experience
For years, League of Legends has been one of the most beloved games in the world. From casual players hanging out in the Rift to the best pro players fighting for victory on the biggest esports scenes, Riot Games’ MOBA is appealing to a large range of players.
But ever since Dylan Jadeja took the leadership of Riot Games, many players feel like League of Legends has been going downhill.
Players raised concerns that Riot Games seems to focus too much on making money and not enough on keeping players happy. When Riot co-founder Marc Merrill explained that they “sell skins to make things like Arcane,” players were confused as financial reports revealed that the company generated over $1.5B in revenue in 2023.
With the regular release of overpriced skins and no acknowledgment of community concerns, Riot seems to consistently prioritize profits over player experience. Players question whether Riot still values the League of Legends community or sees it purely as a revenue source, with many expressing frustration about being “milked by a greedy company.”
Instead of fixing issues raised by the community and striving to improve its MOBA, Riot Games seems more focused on reducing costs while asking players to keep spending their hard-earned money on various over-priced cosmetic elements.
The timeline of Jadeja’s controversial decisions
The frustration surrounding Riot Games’ decisions has been building for over a year. While some players feel the game had been going downhill under the previous CEO Nicolo Laurent already, several key decisions were taken after Jadeja took his position in September 2023:
- January 22, 2024: Riot Games announced the elimination of approximately 530 roles globally, accounting for about 11% of its workforce and mostly affecting teams outside of core game development.
- June 12, 2024: The release of the $500 Immortalized Legend Ahri skin, an exclusive appearance for the champion and additional cosmetic elements customized by League of Legends’ pro player Faker.
- October 15, 2024: An additional 32 layoffs were announced, including 27 from the League of Legends team and five from publishing.
- November 2024: Riot Games forced elements from Arcane into League of Legends lore, even though it disrupted established narratives.
- November 2024: Despite the success of Arcane Season 2, Riot chose not to offer any free skins for League of Legends players, instead opting for more monetized gacha mechanics.
- December 11, 2024: The introduction of the $250 Exalted Jinx skin, continuing to ask players for overpriced skins if they didn’t want to miss out on an appearance for their favorite champion.
- January 9, 2025: Just like Jinx, Sett got a $250 Exalted skin.
- January 9, 2025: The Noxus Battle Pass was released, criticized by the League of Legends community due to lackluster rewards.
- February 7, 2025: Riot removed Hextech chests, a long-standing system for acquiring free skins through gameplay.
- February 19, 2025: The removal of Honor Capsules and Orbs eliminated another avenue for free in-game rewards.
- February 19, 2025: Introduction of another $250 skin, the Exalted Mordekaiser, heavily criticized for both its price and inaccuracy regarding the champion’s lore.
Riot Games also made various changes to the League of Legends esports scene, including a regional league restructuring, a new drafting system, and a revamped split schedule.
Petition and community outrage
Following these controversial decisions, a League of Legends player known as Sam G. decided it was time for a change. They created a petition to ask for the immediate removal of Riot Games’ CEO Dylan Jadeja.
Over 50,000 fellow League of Legends players already signed this call for removal. While this number remains far from the 50 million average monthly League of Legends players, the petition raises the question as to what players are willing to accept or not when it comes to their favorite game.
Sam G. stated that “the community is tired of being ignored and treated like complete idiots who [Riot] only see as numbers to get money from.” Fellow players seem to share the same feeling, asking for the removal of Jadeja in favor of someone else who cares more about the long-term evolution of League of Legends than short-term profits.
No response from Riot Games yet
Although Riot Games did not comment on the petition yet, they have released official statements justifying its layoffs and monetization choices. Jadeja explained that these decisions were necessary for long-term sustainability, and that the layoffs were caused by a decision in 2019 to create “new experiences” that were ultimately shut down, like Riot Forge and its streaming service the Riot Esports Network.
Regarding the excessive pricing of some League of Legends skins, game director Pu “PuPuLasers” Liu admitted in June 2024 that the backlash regarding the Immortalized Legend Ahri skin was “justified.” This, however, did not stop Riot from offering other expensive cosmetics a few months later.
What’s next for Riot Games and League of Legends?
Riot Games’ CEO controversy isn’t the first in the gaming industry. Players are voicing their concerns regarding excessive monetization, whether from pre-order or overpriced cosmetic elements. They are also worried about layoffs and overall work conditions, and previously called for the resignation of Activision Blizzard’s CEO Bobby Kotick.
While Kotick eventually stepped down from his position as CEO of Activision Blizzard and retired from the company, Riot Games hasn’t yet announced whether there will be any managerial changes.
If Riot fails to address the concerns raised by its community, it risks losing those who made League of Legends successful in the first place. If there are no players left to offend, there won’t be any players left to purchase the next overpriced skin or Battle Pass.
Riot now faces a critical decision: Ignore the community’s backlash and risk losing parts of League of Legends’ player base, or acknowledge the concerns and make meaningful changes that will impact the entire company—and its short-term profits.
For now, all eyes are on Riot Games and Dylan Jadeja. If the petition continues getting new signatures, he may have no other choice than to address it. Whether this leads to real changes remains to be seen—but League of Legends players won’t tolerate seeing their favorite game continue to go downhill.
