LoL: New Game Mode, Millions of Bans, Arcane’s Anniversary… The Latest Dev Blog is Here

The brand-new Dev Blog released on October 6 brings several updates: a new game mode on ARAM maps, millions of accounts suspended, and upcoming actions regarding the banning of bought and resold accounts. To celebrate Arcane’s anniversary, Jinx’s skins will also receive some changes. In addition, both the Practice Tool and Streamer Mode will see adjustments.

The Dev Blog starts with the developers discussing a new game mode coming to Summoner’s Rift in patch 25.21, expected on October 22. Named ARAM Mayhem, it will take place on ARAM maps but feature several gameplay twists — such as a bigger snowball, an ultimate that resets cooldowns, and Arena-style augments. The devs mentioned they were inspired by ARAM on Wild Rift when designing this mode. They also mentioned that the different ARAM maps, which were initially planned to be temporary, will now become a permanent addition to the game.

A month ago, with patch 25.18, Riot Games announced stricter measures to combat boosting and hitchhiking. According to Drew Levin, 400,000 ranked accounts, one and a half million sold bot accounts, and another two and a half million accounts awaiting sale have been banned — totaling over four million bans since these measures took effect. Riot Phorxzon also added that if an account was purchased as of patch 25.18, it will be banned.

Another major update announced in the dev blog is account linking. Alternate accounts will now be linked to a player’s main account if Riot is confident they belong to the same person, thanks to Vanguard, account data, and behavioral tracking. This system will allow Riot to punish players using multiple accounts if negative behavior is detected, starting with patch 25.23, which is expected to go live on November 19.

Lastly, the devs discussed improvements to streamer mode. Starting October 8 with patch 25.20, players will have three options: hide other names, hide your own name (which conceals your summoner name but not your stats like champion mastery or ranked borders), and hide my everything, which makes your account completely unsearchable on third-party sites — protecting players from being recognized and keeping their identity from affecting the match.

It’s now been a year since Riot Games’ animated series Arcane concluded, and to celebrate, several behind-the-scenes clips will be shared with the public, along with the return of Arcane-themed merchandise. In-game, new emotes and icons will also be available, as well as the return of skins from Arcane Seasons 1 and 2.

Some upgrades are coming to the Arcane Fractured Jinx skin, including a new spawn animation, updated recalls, and new chompers. For players who already purchased the skin last year, these updates will, of course, be applied for free. A few other announcements were also made: