How the League of Legends Worlds 2025 anthem is the “purest form of hype”

The 2025 League of Legends World Championship is almost here, and to herald its beginning, Riot Games has launched the tournament’s anthem ‘Sacrifice’. 

Celebrating the 15th anniversary of LoL Esports, the 2025 Worlds anthem is performed by G.E.M. and revisits some of the most iconic moments in the game’s history. Weaving together clips of iconic players and unforgettable plays, the anthem is the “purest expression of hype, fandom, and love,” according to Andres Cerro, Senior Brand Manager for LoL Esports, in an interview with Esports Insider. 

Released just hours before the start of the tournament after last-minute production changes, the anthem and its video are a tribute to the players and fans who sacrifice everything for this sport.

Speaking to Esports Insider ahead of Worlds 2025, Cerro and Mike Potter, Creative Director for LoL Esports, discuss the making of this year’s anthem, the creative process behind its universal theme, and its ode to League of Legends esports.

The 2025 League of Legends Worlds campaign centres on the tagline ‘Earn Your Legacy’. For Cerro and Potter, the connection between this theme and the anthem’s title was natural.

The Rioters said that throughout Worlds’ history, League of Legends’ anthems have celebrated courage, resolve and dedication — qualities that define professional play.

“Sacrifice is one of the means to achieve legendary status,” Cerro continued, adding that the song’s message reflects the real-world dedication required to reach the top. 

“You have to sacrifice a lot through time and opportunity, dedicating yourself to a sport that demands everything. But the reward is becoming part of cherished memories for millions of players around the world,” concluded Cerro.

Potter added: “It takes everything just to make it to Worlds. That alone is something worth celebrating and honouring.”

Both agreed that the concept of legacy is extended beyond championship trophies and can reach anyone who’s part of this ecosystem. 

“Legacy can be earned in many different ways — in play-ins, on broadcast, through unforgettable moments. Not everyone wins, but many leave their mark,” Potter said, explaining why certain players are featured in the music video even though they have never lifted the Summoner’s Cup.

The goal was to “put a stake in the ground” about what legacy means at League of Legends Worlds through a collective memory built by pros and fans alike over fifteen years.

This year’s music video takes the celebration beyond Runeterra. Set in outer space, the video reimagines iconic Worlds moments as cosmic events, culminating in pictures of LoL Esports’ greatest players, fans and teams.

Potter said the decision to set the video in space was “two-pronged.” On one hand, the team wanted a new creative environment that stood apart from previous years. On the other hand, space offered a natural setting to “dramatise” the scale of LoL Esports’ 15-year legacy. 

Cerro added that space gave the video both scale and meaning, letting the team celebrate 15 years of LoL Esports with a broader perspective. He explained that while previous anthems focused on a tournament or a player’s career — like RISE or GODS — this year’s music video highlights the sport as a whole.

The cosmic setting also gave the designers creative freedom, using nebulae and constellations to hide Easter eggs and references throughout the video, some of which are really one-frame stop obscure.

Potter said the constellations’ concept became a metaphor for how the community remembers the game, a “timeless story” written in the stars about memories that “last forever.” 

The 2025 Worlds anthem recollects as many memories as stars in the sky, with Sacrifice recording the most easter eggs hidden in a Riot video. 

While Riot couldn’t include every iconic moment of the past 15 years, Potter estimates the music video has “over 70” Easter eggs for fans to hunt for.

One unmissable reference is the picture of Maciej ‘Shushei’ Ratuszniak lifting the Summoner’s Cup. He passed away in April 2025 after battling cancer, but he has been immortalised as one of the first players to win the first World Championship.

While the video highlights the players and their legacy, Cerro said that fans are just as important as they are the ones who made League of Legends esports “the biggest esport on the planet.”

“They create countless memories through their passion for the game by attending live events, streaming matches across time zones, sharing content, and showing support in ways that extend far beyond the game itself,” he highlighted. 

For Riot Games, the Worlds anthem is “the purest expression of hype fandom and love” for the fans. He also mentioned how, when creating the song and music video, Riot does not expect to recoup any of the investment spent on it.

“There’s no way to monetise something like this,” he said. “It exists to reward and delight fans — to give them something meaningful to remember at the start of the tournament.”

Neither the song nor the video is expected to bring in revenue, nor is its success judged on financial return. Instead, Riot Games measures this by how well it engages viewers and resonates with the community by tracking fan reactions across multiple platforms and languages. This also includes surveying audiences on the music, artist choice and overall story. 

Cerro said the team also monitors online discussions to see which elements of the video connect with fans and how the messaging lands across different regions. “We want to know if fans are feeling the story, the tone, and the excitement we tried to capture,” he said. 

Following Riot’s postponement of the anthem and its reasoning behind it, many fans and pros alike raised criticism about the anthem music video, and this will likely continue as the video goes live.

Yet, Cerro said he doesn’t feel the need to respond to criticism before it happens. Instead, he encourages fans to take a step back and consider the global scope of League of Legends esports. 

“When something doesn’t match your personal taste, ask yourself: is this made just for me, or is it meant to reach fans on the other side of the world, or those who are new to the game?” he prompted. 

Cerro emphasised that the anthem has to connect with fans everywhere, not just a few. Particularly on the 15th anniversary, he believes it’s worth remembering how “diverse” the fandom is, brought together by shared memories but shaped by “unique points of view.”

“That’s why sometimes certain creative choices, certain players, or certain angles might not resonate with you personally,” he said. “It doesn’t mean it’s wrong — it’s designed to celebrate the whole community, from longtime fans to newcomers.”

Fifteen years after the first League of Legends World Championship, the event remains one of the defining spectacles in esports. Through music, visuals and storytelling, ‘Sacrifice’ captures not only the scale of that history but also the spirit that keeps it alive.

In 2025, Worlds once again asks its players to earn their legacy — one sacrifice at a time.