This time, the report does not originate from Sleep Esports—it appears to be genuine. According to information uncovered through data mining on the PBE for Patch 16.5,
voice chat may soon be introduced to Summoner’s Rift in
League of Legends.
On Wednesday, the X account SkinSpotlights announced that voice chat would officially be coming to League of Legends, posting a screenshot of data mining from the 16.5 PBE indicating players may be able to report others for voice chat abuse. It would also be possible to switch between team voice chat and party voice chat. Additional leaks suggest that the feature will need to be manually enabled through the game’s settings.
The introduction of voice chat has long been anticipated—both positively and negatively—by the
League of Legends community. Already implemented in
VALORANT, another Riot Games title in which communication is widely regarded as central to gameplay, the feature now appears set to arrive in the publisher’s flagship MOBA. Some players argue that voice chat could help mitigate toxicity and facilitate clearer in-game communication, thereby improving coordination and mutual understanding within teams. Others contend that it may further degrade the gameplay experience and introduce new avenues for toxic behavior.
Advantages for some, clear drawbacks for others
High-elo players — streamers or pro players — in particular, have expressed support for the feature, viewing it as a means of improving match quality and easing communication in ranked games—especially in lobbies where players may already be familiar with one another. “I think it will completely level up the gameplay of every game. I don’t know how bad people behave in VCs, but in my experience, people rarely say dumb shit if they’re gonna play with them again?” French Flair’s jungler Isak "NattyNatt" Elgh wrote on X.
Conversely, some remain concerned about potential abuses of voice chat, including sexist or discriminatory remarks, issues that have already surfaced in games such as VALORANT and could likewise affect League of Legends.
While awaiting official clarification from Riot Games regarding the feature’s release, current indications from the PBE suggest that voice chat could be implemented as early as Patch 16.5, which is expected within the coming weeks.
