League of Legends Classic will leave active service in January 2027, only a few months after its July 2026 launch. Riot Games says the throwback mode attracted players initially, but most have since returned to other parts of the main game.
The announcement arrived with Season 3 Act 2. Riot says Classic will remain available until the conclusion of Season 3 in 2026, which places the end of its current run in January 2027. The developer explained that many players enjoyed revisiting the older style of play, but sustained participation had fallen.
For context, this is a different outcome from World of Warcraft Classic, whose launch brought back many lapsed players who were unhappy with the contemporary version of that game. In Riot’s case, the Classic audience appears to have returned to the wider League of Legends ecosystem rather than abandoning it altogether.
Riot has not ruled out another return. Its stated plan is to bring Classic back in the future, potentially as an event mode with new adjustments and additions. The team also intends to discuss what worked, what failed and what it learned from this version before considering a future iteration. The developer’s official post contains the announcement.
Classic will keep receiving content before closure
The mode is not being abandoned immediately. Mordekaiser, Yorick, Hecarim and Lucian are scheduled to arrive in patch 26.21, followed by Volibear, Urgot and Udyr through patch 26.23.
Riot is also refunding Classic-specific content that will no longer be usable. The Act 2 Classic Battle Pass will include only a free track, while the Classic store will be limited to champions, runes and rune pages.
Oceania access will move to set play windows
The most immediate change for players is reduced access outside scheduled periods. Riot is making this transition to prevent long queue times across servers.
- Weekdays: 4:00 pm to midnight, based on server time
- Weekends: Saturday at 10:00 am through Sunday at 1:00 am, based on server time
These windows apply to Korea, Latin America North, Latin America South, Taiwan, Vietnam, Turkey, Southeast Asia, Oceania and Russia. Australian players should therefore expect Classic access to be restricted to the listed Oceania server-time periods before the mode’s planned shutdown.
The decision is another reminder that online game modes depend on a healthy player population, unlike the enduring plug-and-play appeal of a dedicated arcade machine. Readers comparing different kinds of gaming hardware can also explore RETROCADE’s arcade machine buying guide or browse the latest arcade news and features.
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