League of Legends Classic Is Shutting Down in January 2027, Six Months After Its Relaunch
League of Legends Classic is closing its first run less than six months after it opened the gates on an old Summoner’s Rift. Riot Games confirmed on October 14 that the nostalgia mode will stay playable through the end of Season 3 of 2026 before going offline in January 2027, with the developer already promising a comeback down the road.
A Short Run for a Mode Players Asked for Years
League Classic launched on July 29 with Patch 26.15, rebuilding the Season 3 era of 2013 with old Runes and Masteries, a 60 champion launch roster, and a recreated Summoner’s Rift redone with modern lighting and textures. Executive Producer Paul Bellezza framed it at launch as a direct answer to years of community requests.
“League Classic is personal for us. You’ve been asking for this for years.”
Paul Bellezza, Executive Producer
League of Legends Classic rebuilt the 2013 era of Summoner’s Rift, old Runes and Masteries included.
Riot Says the Mode Will Come Back as an Event
Riot’s dev update is clear that this is a pause rather than a cancellation, though no firm return date exists yet. The developer also plans to publish a longer breakdown of what it learned from the mode’s first run once the current season winds down.
“Our goal is to bring Classic back in the future, likely as an event mode.”
Riot Games, League of Legends dev update
What Changes Before the Lights Go Out
Classic isn’t frozen in place for its final stretch. New champions keep arriving every patch through 26.23, with Mordekaiser, Yorick, Hecarim, and Lucian joining in Patch 26.21, followed by Volibear, Urgot, and Udyr, which finished in the top three of a recent Council community poll. The Act II Classic Battle Pass in 26.21 drops its paid track and ships as a single free track instead, and from that patch onward the Classic store only sells Champions, Runes, and Rune Pages rather than cosmetics. Riot is also issuing refunds for Classic specific content that will stop working once the mode closes, and Classic Custom games will stay available at all times once the ranked style queues end.
Riot hasn’t published player numbers, but the dev update frames the shutdown around nostalgia alone not being enough to hold a long term audience, with most players drifting back to modern League over the past few months. For now, League of Legends Classic remains playable, new champions and all, until Riot pulls it back out of the box for its next event.
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Picture Source: Riot Games
