LoL: Why Mid-Scope Updates Are Replacing Champion Releases

League of Legends has a huge array of champions for players to choose to take on the Summoner’s Rift.

With 161 champions to choose from, it’s no wonder we see people umm-ing and ahh-ing over who to play.

Champions cover a range of identities with different races, sexualities, languages and more to ensure everyone has a champion to relate to.

However, despite the great representation, the huge number of playable characters means a lot of work for the developer team to stay true to the meta.

So, let's look at why we will see way more mid-scope updates over champion releases coming up in the 2023 season of League of Legends.

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Developers Discuss a Champion Cap

In a podcast episode of Broken by Concept with the League of Legends developer team, it was announced that there would be a cap on champion releases. This means seeing releases dwindle down and eventually stop in the game.

Developers such as Matt ‘Phroxzon’ Leung Harrison recently admitted that this is true in a recent podcast. But, he did seek to add that the team still has ‘got a lot of flex to go because there are a few things that make a lot of champions unsustainable.’

With more and more mid-scope updates coming to the game in the 2023 season, it has made the community wonder whether this will become the new normal.

What are Mid-scope Updates?

Mid-scope updates provide a great way for older champions to be reworked without starting fresh. Additionally, it is great to see your favourite main back on the Rift with the same gusto as before.

What Does This Mean for League of Legends?

Matt went on to say that “If we make unintuitive champions, then making more of them is an issue because it massively multiplies the number of things you need to understand to play the game.”

And of course, adding so many mechanical elements to such a complex game only makes it harder to understand for new players. With such a large playerbase that League of Legends has, this doesn’t seem like too much of an issue.

But keeping that number growing alongside keeping veteran players happy is a great way to have a friendlier community.

Neeko Mid-scope Update

In 2023, we should expect to see the Neeko mid-scope update being added to the live game. But unfortunately, we do not currently have an official release date for this update.

But, through leaks, we have found some possible changes to the League of Legends champion. Online clips have shown Neeko transforming into a tower, minion, or ward. So, perhaps the curious chameleon will be able to have an extra element of stealth added.

There have also been some leaks of information about a Rell MSU coming to the game too.

READ MORE: LoL Neeko Mid-scope Update - Changed abilities LEAKED

Why do we Need Mid-scope Updates?

Mid-scope updates set the balance between older champions and newer ones. Seeing a base skin Zilean fight up against a Renatta Glasc in the bot lane can be funny. But also a testament to just how forgotten Zilean actually is.

And this is the case for many champions who also struggle with their dated visuals.

Both of these pieces of information have left the community discussing whether the decrease in champions will mean an increase in mid-scope updates. And as this goes for 2023, it's looking like this might become a regular release from the Riot Games developer team

The general consensus seems to be that this is a good move from Riot games. Having new champions is always fun but with 160 champions to choose from, it can become a little overwhelming.