In League of Legends, the trunk-addicted brawler Gragas, the “Troublemaker,” has been around for 15 years. He is a massive, brawling brewmaster with abilities like “Free Beer” and “Drunken Rage.” For 15 years, this was not a problem. But in 2025, this will no longer be the case in LoL.
This is the announcement from Riot: On April 18, 2025, RiotMeddler spoke up on Twitter and said that they had adjusted some features of Gragas and removed “Drunken” from the names of abilities to comply with age requirements in various regions. The skill W, originally named “Drunken Rage,” will be renamed “Raucous Rage.” (Loud Rage).
Anyone who wants can enjoy a drink. Players should not worry, as Gragas still appreciates a beer. He’s just being more discreet about drinking now.
Gragas has been in League of Legends since February 2010: The whole character is centered around beer. Gragas is a brewmaster who walks around with a huge barrel that he throws and drinks from to hit harder and regenerate some health.
Fans complain: Public execution is okay, but drinking beer isn’t?
How is this being discussed? The tweet has now reached 1.1 million views in just a few days and has been commented on over 300 times.
In the English-speaking world, people are annoyed by the restriction. Riot Games seems to want to placate religions that cannot tolerate someone drinking. This takes the “creative fun out of the game” and shows how internationalization can go terribly wrong. If necessary, they should just stop catering to such a market if they have to change the international version for it.
Players apparently suspect countries like Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates of having pressured Riot Games to limit the glorification of alcohol through Gragas.
A nasty comment states: “I guess Tencent finds public executions as a feature in the game acceptable. Probably because it has not been a problem for the communist party until recently.”
The Chinese company Tencent is the parent company of Riot Games. Tencent is said to have excellent relations with the Chinese government.
“This is just like when you removed Graves’ cigar! You will never recover financially from this.”
This is probably more of an ironic comment.
In a large discussion on Reddit , people are wondering why, in a game where so much offensive content happens – such as with the heroine Evelynn, who makes clear sexual innuendos – this particular detail is perceived as bothersome.
Why is Riot doing this? As RiotMeddler later clarifies on Reddit , it specifically relates to complying with age regulations for certain regions. Otherwise, there would be no reason. The word “drunken” has been marked as offensive.
They have no plans to change anything else about Gragas.
Is there anyone who thinks the change is good? One post thanks Riot Games for it. A user says that as the son of a former alcoholic whose father died from drinking too much, he appreciates the change. He always felt uncomfortable playing as Gragas. He even wishes Riot would go further and also change the animations and voice lines.
Games like League of Legends are played worldwide, and in some topics, it becomes clear that what is a minor issue for us can be viewed very differently in other regions of the world: LoL proudly celebrates gays and lesbians – except in Turkey, where it is not allowed: Problems surrounding LGBTQIA+
Riot gives assurance
Update, April 23: Riot has responded again. They have now looked more closely at the EU guidelines: (via bluesky)
- The name of the ability “Drunken Rage” does not need to be changed after all
- Instead, the description of the ability will be adjusted so that it no longer states that being drunk strengthens Gragas and that the “slurping the brew” will also need to disappear
- Additionally, they will make some adjustments to Gragas’ bio
It appears to be about avoiding the impression that Gragas and thus LoL glorifies alcohol.
