THE POLITICS OF A GAME PATCH - PATCH NOTE DOCUMENTS AND THE PATCHING PROCESSES IN LEAGUE OF LEGENDS

Aug 28, 2026

This thesis traces the histories of League of Legends through game patching processes and the documentation written by Riot Games. By analyzing how patches affect racial representation and professional player labor, the work examines how patching supports a post-racial logic while sustaining precarious working conditions. It links diversity patch rollouts to the aesthetic framing of racial and sexual difference and studies Worlds 2015 as a case where developer patch whims reshape esports labor. The study concludes by showing how patching can reproduce ludo-Orientalist logics and reshape competitive scenes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages80

Reading Time3 h 22 min

AccessFree to download

Acknowledgements

Abstract

List of Figures

Chapter 1 Introduction

Chapter 2 Patch Notes and Patch Note Documents

Chapter 3 Perpetual Patching: Habit + Crisis by Design

Chapter 4 Patching in Diversity

Chapter 5 Patching in Instibility

Chapter 6 Beyond Patch Notes

Chapter 7 Conclusion

References

Biographical Sketch

Curriculum Vitae

THE POLITICS OF A GAME PATCH: PATCH NOTE DOCUMENTS AND THE PATCHING PROCESSES IN LEAGUE OF LEGENDS by Rinaldo Del Gallo APPROVED BY SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE: | Dr. Hong-An Wu, Chair | | --- | | Dr. Monica Evans | Dr. Kim Knight Copyright 2023 Rinaldo Del Gallo All Rights Reserved THE POLITICS OF A GAME PATCH: PATCH NOTE DOCUMENTS AND THE PATCHING PROCESSES IN LEAGUE OF LEGENDS by RINALDO DEL GALLO, BA THESIS Presented to the Faculty of The University of Texas at Dallas in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN ARTS, TECHNOLOGY, AND EMERGING COMMUNICATION THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS May 2023 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Hong-An Wu, whose mentorship made this work possible. Thank you for the time and effort that you have dedicated towards making me a better scholar. I would like to thank Monica Evans and Kim Knight for their help on my thesis as well as during the duration of my program. I am grateful for all the support I have received from my mentors and my peers. April 2021 THE POLITICS OF A GAME PATCH: PATCH NOTE DOCUMENTS AND THE PATCHING PROCESSES IN LEAGUE OF LEGENDS Rinaldo Del Gallo, MA The University of Texas at Dallas, 2023 Supervising Professor: Hong-An Wu This thesis traces the histories of the digital game League of Legends through the game’spatching processes and the documentation about these patches written by the game’s developers, Riot Games. Specifically, by analyzing the game’s histories of racial representation and professional player labor through a focus on the effects of Riot Games’ patching processes, this thesis investigates the politics of a game patch in constituting a post-racial logic and precarious labor practices for professional players and beyond. In this investigation, I begin by examining the introduction of racial and sexual diversity game patches during the process of League of Legends’s rise to global popularity. By considering the introduction of characters that are explicitly coded as racially and sexually diverse, such as Caitlyn, Lucian, and Neeko, alongside the inclusion of microtransaction cosmetic appearances that alter the racial coding of player characters, I argue that Riot Games reproduces the logics of racial othering in these patches through a positioning of these differences as merely aesthetic preferences, which collectively contribute towards League of Legends ’ status as a globally palatable game that aestheticizes race and reinscribes a post-racial logic into the game’s universe. Building on this, I proceed to analyze the patching processes and consequences surrounding the professional gaming event Worlds 2015, a prestigious international tournament. Building on accounts of professional players alongside the journalistic entries on Worlds 2015, I connect the tenuous and precarious labor conditions of professional eSports players at the whims of developer patches with scholarly theorizations on the processes of technological obsolescence and decay. In so doing, I argue that patches are far from its conception as a strictly reactive process. Instead, patches and patching are locations whereby developer goals are actively negotiated with players. To conclude, this thesis investigation ends with a story of the rise and fall of a localized League of Legends ’competitive scene that connects the post-racial logic and precarious labor practices in game patches. By problematizing how race and labor are intimately tethered to the processes of game patching, I highlight how patching processes can reproduce ludo-Orientalist logic in reality. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………………………....iv ABSTRACT…….………………………………………………………………………………...v LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………….……………………….viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………..…...1 CHAPTER 2 PATCH NOTES AND PATCH NOTE DOCUMENTS……..........................…….5 CHAPT

FAQs

How does the thesis define the role of patch notes in League of Legends?

The thesis treats patches and patching as sites where developer goals are negotiated with players rather than purely reactive updates.

What argument does the thesis make about diversity patches and racial representation?

It argues that Riot Games positions racial and sexual differences as aesthetic preferences, reproducing racial othering and reinscribing a post-racial logic within the game’s universe.

How is Worlds 2015 used in the analysis of professional esports labor?

The thesis connects accounts of professional players and journalistic entries on Worlds 2015 to show how developer patch changes can intensify precarious labor conditions.

Aug 28, 2026

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