Fan brings back winter Summoner's Rift with custom skin

Nicholas James Published 28/11/2021

Summoner’s Rift getting a visual update to match in-game events has become more and more commonplace in League of Legends. From Arcane inserting Hextech turrets, to Clash banners and Worlds insignias, Games Riot is clearly willing to make multiple smaller changes to the rift. 4

However, one Summoner’s Rift reskin that’s been notably missing for a while is the famous Winter Rift, a snow-covered, festive twist on the usual arena of battle in League of Legends. One fan has taken Riot’s lack of holiday spirit into his own hands and has created a fully functional custom skin

League of Legends modder and content creator TheKillerey has gained a reputation in the community for making custom skins for champions and Summoner’s Rift itself. Each year, they publish a new and improved version of the Winter Rift, capitalizing on fans’ nostalgia for the chilly adaptation of the map. 2021 is no different, with TheKillerey releasing a video to highlight the latest version of Summoner’s Rift to have a healthy addition of holiday cheer.

Does Riot Games ban custom skins like Winter Rift?

While Riot Games isn’t actually against them, custom skins can get players banned through anti-cheat software.

Custom skins are in an interesting position when it comes to Riot Games’ stance, and their legitimacy inside of the game. Riot isn’t explicitly against them, but recent changes to League of Legends’ anti-cheat system have had the secondary effect of sometimes detecting custom champion and map skins as foreign code inside of the game and flagging it as a cheating software.

You won’t be banned explicitly for using the skin, but Riot Games also isn’t likely to help recover any accounts that were flagged for using third-party game elements. When it comes to this gorgeous fan-made holiday reskin, it’s much safer to admire it from a distance rather than risk your account by downloading and setting it up.

Nonetheless, seeing Summoner’s Rift covered in snow is a nostalgic moment that will likely have many fans asking why Riot hasn’t brought it back for yet another year.

Nicholas James

About Nicholas James

Nicholas James is a gaming writer with a passion for all things geekdom, as well as live theater. Nicholas is best known for covering League of Legends and other top MOBA titles, but his expertise covers numerous games across multiple genres. When not watching the LCS or playing the latest new release, Nicholas can be found doing some tabletop gaming and painting his favorite miniatures. Nicholas has also published with Hotspawn, TheGamer, Dexerto, Esports.gg and other industry outlets.

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