Introduction: The S15 season is now over, and most players have been paying attention to the recent offseason. The esports industry has experienced rapid growth in recent years. While the number of teams in the LPL has risen, the overall standard has dropped, resulting in unstable results for the region. A few years ago, there was still hope to vie for the world title, but this season, they didn't even make it to the finals. To boost popularity, the organizers made many adjustments, including the currently hottest in-client mode, the Hextech Mayhem. However, unexpectedly, the mode is going to be removed. It is said that on January 8th, this mode will be deleted.

The LPL’s most popular mode is confirmed to be removed

Most players are quite familiar with League of Legends. As an esports game, it has grown to its current scale in just over a decade, which is quite an achievement. The esports industry has now reached a bottleneck, and to maximize popularity, constant innovation and updates are necessary. This season, the most eye-catching feature for fans has been the Hextech Mayhem mode. Its introduction truly delighted all players, even those who had long left the game reinstalled the client to experience this unique mode.

Players who have tried this mode generally gave positive feedback. The addition of new runes offers a fresh experience—for example, pure tank champions with tens of thousands of health, AD champions with movement speeds of thousands or more, and gigantic monsters towering beyond imagination. Many gameplay styles that the developers probably never anticipated have been discovered by players. It was expected that this mode would become a permanent fixture, given its high popularity, as it could continuously boost the game’s appeal. However, in a previous official announcement, it was stated that Hextech Mayhem would remain available only until patch 25.24, with a reminder to enjoy it before it goes offline.

This means that in the new season’s patch, this mode will be removed. According to players, Riot is currently on their routine winter break and will return on January 5th. Therefore, Hextech Mayhem is expected to be officially taken offline after January 5th, with rumors saying the shutdown will happen on January 8th, when the new season begins. Removing the hottest mode is typical of Riot’s style; it’s unclear what the official reasoning is, or whether the Hextech Mayhem mode for S16 was not well prepared. Overall, if this mode is discontinued, the likely outcome is a significant drop in game popularity and a sharp decline in online players.

Perhaps the developers have their own considerations. After all, the core of League lies in solo and duo queue competitive play. This mode’s introduction may have caused the number of ranked players to decrease, seriously impacting the direction they had planned. Of course, Hextech Mayhem might be similar to previous modes like One for All or Clone Mode—rarely permanent but returning periodically to entertain players. This approach keeps the game fresh while allowing ranked play to develop healthily. This is probably Riot’s intention; otherwise, why remove this mode?

Farewell thoughts

There is no final verdict yet; all shutdown news is based on previous official announcements and player speculation. It is highly likely the mode will be removed around that time. So, while there’s still a chance, everyone should play their favorite champions a few more times. Even if it goes offline, it will surely return someday—just not sure when.

Dear viewers, what are your thoughts on this matter?