League of Legends Classic to Close After Just Three Months of Operation

Riot Games has revealed plans to discontinue the League of Legends Classic service in January 2027. If you’re surprised to hear about League of Legends Classic, it’s understandable, as it only launched this past July. Just three months in, it appears that players have moved on to other experiences.

In an official announcement on the League of Legends website, Riot stated that they would be “making some changes” to Classic with the recent release of Season 3 Act 2. The primary change is the impending shutdown of the service. Riot noted, “League Classic will be available through the end of Season 3 of 2026 and then end its current run,” which points to January 2027. The reason for this decision is that “We’ve seen a lot of players have fun revisiting the olden days with Classic. At this point though, most have gone back to other parts of League.” While this isn’t ideal for Classic, it’s a positive sign that players are still engaged within the League ecosystem rather than abandoning it altogether. This situation contrasts with the initial launch of World of Warcraft Classic, which successfully drew back many players who were unhappy with the current version of WoW.

However, Riot isn’t closing the door on Classic permanently. They mentioned, “Our goal is to bring Classic back in the future, likely as an event mode with adjustments and additions.” The developer also plans to share insights gained from Classic, including both its successes and shortcomings, which should strengthen any future iterations.

As the end approaches, Riot is still supporting Classic. Champions like Mordekaiser, Yorick, Hecarim, and Lucian will be added in patch 26.21, with more champions like Volibear, Urgot, and Udyr coming in patch 26.23. Additionally, the developer will issue refunds for Classic-specific content that will no longer be usable, and the Act 2 Classic Battle Pass will only feature a free track. Moving forward, the Classic store will focus solely on champions, runes, and rune pages.

The downside for Classic players is that access will be limited. To manage server queue times, Riot is implementing designated play windows for Classic. Players in regions such as Korea, Latin America North and South, Taiwan, Vietnam, Turkey, Southeast Asia, Oceania, and Russia will only be able to access Classic on weekdays from 4:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. server time, and on weekends from Saturday 10:00 a.m. to Sunday 1:00 a.m. server time.