Classic’s run ends
League of Legends Classic, Riot’s throwback version of the MOBA, will end its current run in January 2027, roughly six months after it launched. In a /dev: League Classic post dated October 14, Riot says “most have gone back to other parts of League” and that it plans to bring Classic back later, “likely as an event mode with adjustments and additions.”
The timeline
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| July 2026 | League Classic launches |
| Patch 26.20 | Irelia, Karma, Quinn, Aatrox and Caitlyn added |
| Patch 26.21 | Windowed queues in nine regions; JP and MENA go custom-matches-only; Act II Battle Pass ships with a free track only; Classic store cut to champions, runes and rune pages; Mordekaiser, Yorick, Hecarim and Lucian added |
| Through 26.23 | New champions every patch, including Volibear, Urgot and Udyr |
| End of Season 3 | Classic stays available |
| January 2027 | Current run ends |
Queues are already the problem
Riot says the windowed queues are for regions with “especially strong migration back to modern modes”, which has meant long queue times and large MMR gaps. Korea, Latin America North and South, Taiwan, Vietnam, Turkey, Southeast Asia, Oceania and Russia get set windows: 4PM to 12AM server time on weekdays and 10AM to 1AM at weekends. Classic custom games stay available everywhere, at all times.
Refunds
Riot says it is “issuing refunds on Classic-specific content that will no longer be usable”, and the Act II Battle Pass will have one unified free track. As Rock Paper Shotgun points out, that leaves the Classic store selling only champions, runes and rune pages from 26.21.
Riot promises to share “where we could have gone more classic, and where sticking too closely to the past may have held the experience back.” The next time Classic comes back, it will be on a timer from the start.
