Riot will end League of Legends Classic’s current run in January 2027
After weaker engagement, Riot says Classic stays through Season 3 2026, then goes away in January 2027 — with a goal to return later as an event-style mode.
LandGadget Newsroom · · 2 min read
Riot Games is winding down the current League of Legends Classic experiment. In a /dev blog, designers say most players have “gone back to other parts of League,” so Classic will stay through the rest of Season 3 2026 and then end its current run in January 2027.
What happens next
Riot’s stated goal is to bring Classic back later — likely as an event mode with adjustments and additions — after putting the present version “back in the box.” The studio also plans to share lessons from this run (what felt authentically classic vs. what held the mode back).
Near-term changes include:
- Windowed queues in several lower-traffic regions (Korea, LATAM, Taiwan, Vietnam, Turkey, SEA, Oceania, Russia and others)
- JP and MENA moving to custom matches only from the start of patch 26.21
- Act II Classic Battle Pass shipping as a unified free track
- Refunds for Classic-specific content that will no longer be usable; from 26.21 the Classic store keeps Champions, Runes and Rune Pages
Riot will keep adding older champions through patches 26.20–26.23 (including Irelia, Karma, Quinn, Aatrox, Caitlyn, then Mordekaiser, Yorick, Hecarim, Lucian, and later Volibear, Urgot and Udyr) so the remaining months still get content.
Frequently asked questions
Is Classic deleted forever in January?
Riot is ending this continuous run in January 2027. It says the goal is to return Classic later as an event-style mode, not that nostalgia modes are abandoned forever.
What about purchases?
Riot says it is refunding Classic-specific content that will no longer work; check its support article for the exact list and process.
For Classic mains, the clock is set: enjoy Season 3’s remaining patches, then expect a pause rather than an indefinite queue.
More from Gaming
View all →Read next
Sony cancels the promised Android 17 update for Xperia 10 VI
Sony says storage limits block an adequate Android 17 upgrade on the midrange Xperia 10 VI. Security patches should continue through June 2028.
The leap second is being scrapped: what changes in 2027
Countries at the CGPM voted to make UTC continuous from 20 May 2027, ending leap seconds and letting clocks drift up to an hour from Earth’s rotation.
Withings now charges new users for Apple Health sync
New Withings accounts created from 13 October need Withings+ ($9.95/month or $99.50/year) to auto-sync to Apple Health and Health Connect; older ones stay free.