Riot Reveals League of Legends Classic Release Date and First Details

Riot Games has officially unveiledLeague of Legends Classic, confirming that the nostalgic game mode will launch with Patch 26.15 on July 29 at 15:00 UTC. The announcement was made during the Mid-Season Invitational 2026 Grand Final, where the developer also showcased a new trailer.

Unlike World of Warcraft Classic, Riot is not releasing a separate client. Instead, League of Legends Classic will be integrated into the existing League of Legends client as a dedicated game mode.

Rather than recreating the original 2009 version of the game, Riot has chosen Season 3 (2013) as the foundation for the classic experience. The mode brings back the gameplay and visual style of that era while retaining selected modern quality-of-life improvements.

At launch, players will have access to the original Summoner's Rift, 60 champions, the classic Runes and Masteries systems, legacy items, and the community voting features that helped define early League of Legends.

Released in 2009, League of Legends remains one of the most-played PC games in the world, with more than 100 million monthly active players, according to Riot Games. Beyond the upcoming Classic mode, the studio is also developing League Next, a major overhaul of the game scheduled for 2027, with additional details expected later this year.