Why is League of Legends so Popular? 6 Good Reasons Why

While games like Apex and Fortnite have been getting a lot of eyes, the big guys of online gaming are still going strong, with millions of players tapping away daily. One of the top games on the PC was, and still is, League of Legends from Riot Games.

This popular MOBA is fast-paced, full of exciting champions with epic-looking skins. It’s addicting, and yes, it’s one of the most played games out there. Why is League of Legends so popular? Why does it have so many players?

When League of Legends was first released towards the end of 2009, it wasn’t like any other games on the market. If you had told someone that it was going to become one of the most popular free-to-play games on the market, they would have laughed, but now is the Riot Games that are laughing to everyone with their huge League of Legends player count.

Back then, gamers weren’t really familiar with this free-to-play concept. Some MMO games would charge a monthly subscription, but traditionally, gamers were used to playing a flat fee for a game – it was a foreign concept for a company to give a game away for free. After all, isn’t that why companies create games? To make money?
Around this time, mobile games were starting to catch eyes.

Games such as Candy Crush (released in 2012) claimed to be completely free-to-play. Still, in all actuality, it landed under that “pay to win” category. This means that players can put their real money into the game, which will give them an unfair advantage over those who don’t pay real money.

Riot insurance that LoL players would not gain any form of advantage if they were to put their money into the game. The currency in LoL is referred to as Riot points – players receive Riot points in exchange for real money.

Riot points can be used to dress champions with new skins, unlock new champions, or unlock summoner icons and ward skins.
It’s appealing to find a free-to-play game that isn’t pay-to-win. The company still makes money, though, because many of the players put real money towards skins. In fact, players end up paying more than what they would have paid for a subscription.

Another reason this type of free-to-play model is popular is because people are hesitant when it comes to trying out a new game – they fear that they will end up wasting money on a game that they really don’t like. However, with LoL, you can play a couple of matches and determine if you like it or not, and then players can share it with their friends, without pressuring them to spend money on it.

More Reasons Why LoL is so Popular …

1. The Competitive Nature

With many gamers out there being competitive, League of Legends is no joke. When you’re climbing up that ranked ladder, it feels like you’re achieving something great. Basically, as you improve as a player, you gain rewards. Yes, in solo queue, there’s a lot of toxicity and frustration, but that is mainly due to the fact that the game is so competitive.
Something that keeps players climbing is that they know if they keep going, they might have the opportunity to play against the professional players.

This is where it gets crazy:

Suppose you’re good at the game, and you manage to reach League of Legends: Challenger. In that case, you will be placed in a division that only the best players are in – this is where you might have the opportunity to play with or against pro players. In fact, if you’re super good at the game, you could end up being scouted out by a team and invited to play with them.

Also read: Why Do League Players Hate Teemo?

2. The Regular Updates

11 years later, Riot hasn’t given up on the game – the updates are still coming. In fact, it seems like there is a patch every 17 days or so, and most of all, you don’t have to pay money with these releases. Riot makes sure they give their players a lot to do so that their players don’t get bored with the game. Not only does regular updates keep old players happy, but it also brings in new people.

3. The Games are Short

Some may say that this isn’t true, but yes, the games are short in our book. When you play a single game, you can play it as long as you want and put down the controller at any time. However, when it comes to online games, it’s not the same. Games like World of Warcraft and Ark: Survival Evolved can require players to remain online for 2+ hours in one session.

Compared to this, having to play a 35-minute match in League of Legends is short. Do you have an hour before you need to go to bed? If so, then you can start a match in LoL. Is it 4:30 pm and dinner is in thirty minutes? Then play League of Legends!
You can even play this game between chores and breaks. Long story short, if the length of the game was longer, LoL might have stayed in the background.

4. It’s Multiplayer, So You Can Play with Friends

Gaming is fun, but do you know what’s even more fun? Having the ability to play with friends! In League of Legends, you can bring your friends into the game. You can queue up with your friends in a premade lobby, or if you’re up for the challenge, you can create your own team and play against others in ranked matches.

We’ve also noticed that LoL makes it easy to make new friends. There are some toxic LoL players out there that may sling abusive words in your direction, but there are also some pleasant ones. Playing in the marksman or support position is a great way to bond with others. If you find someone that you get along with, you can add each other after the game.

Also read: Ways Riot can improve High Elo solo queue

5. eSports

Oh yes, we cannot forget about eSports … League of Legends made its way to eSports during season 3 when the esports scene became so popular. Once this game made its way to eSports, it gained a lot of new players.

6. Free to Play

Like we mentioned at the beginning of this article, people love free to play games. Many people hesitate to try new games that they have to pay for because they don’t know if they’re going to like it. Yes, some games offer “free trials.” Still, even then, people are skeptical because they know if they will like it.

With League of Legends, however, almost everything is free. Sure, you may want to buy Teemo some new clothes, but that’s entirely up to you.

Conclusion

Is League of Legends so popular because it emerged at just the right time, or is it just one of the best games out there? Without all of the coverage, would it still be popular? We will never know this, but what we do know is that it is a great game!

We’re interested in knowing how long our readers have been in the LoL scene – what year did you first start playing this game?