League Classic's throwback run is winding down, but Riot says it may return as an event

OFFICIAL Written by GPN · Nov 1, 2026, 8:42 PM ET · League of Legends · Gaming

Riot Games has set an end point for the current run of League of Legends Classic. The throwback mode will remain available through the end of Season 3 of 2026, and then it will close out in January 2027. The studio says the door is not shut for good, though: the aim is to bring Classic back at some point, most likely as an event mode with changes and new additions.

The reason given is straightforward. Plenty of players enjoyed revisiting the game's earlier days, but most have since drifted back to other parts of League of Legends. Riot says it still plans to share more about what it learned from the run, including where the throwback approach worked, where it could have gone further, and where staying too close to the past may have held the experience back.

The wind-down comes with practical changes for the remaining months. In regions where player numbers have fallen sharply, Classic will move to scheduled queue windows, a shift Riot links to longer waits and wide skill gaps in those areas. Japan and the Middle East and North Africa regions will instead offer Classic through custom matches only, starting with patch 26.21. Custom games, however, will stay available at all times in every region.

There are also changes to what players can buy and earn. Riot is issuing refunds for Classic-specific content that will no longer be usable, and the Act II Classic Battle Pass arriving in patch 26.21 will have a single free track. From that patch onward, the Classic store will be limited to champions, runes, and rune pages.

Classic is not going quiet before it goes, either. Riot says new older champions are still on the way, with a batch in patch 26.20 and more in 26.21, and further champion releases planned every patch through 26.23, including Volibear, Urgot, and Udyr, who topped a recent community Council poll. The studio closes by thanking players for diving back in, reconnecting with old friends, and reliving their early League days, and by asking them to keep an eye on future patch notes for queue window details.

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League of Legends (Riot Games)

League Classic's throwback run is winding down, but Riot says it may return as an event

Facts gathered from

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