League of Legends Classic is Riot Games' upcoming featured game mode that recreates older versions of LoL, bringing back pre-rework champion kits, the original rune and mastery system, legacy items like Heart of Gold and Deathfire Grasp, and the old Summoner's Rift map visuals. Riot officially teased the mode on June 26, 2026, via a short video; full details are scheduled for the MSI 2026 Finals on July 11, 2026. No launch date has been announced.
What Is League of Legends Classic?
League Classic is a Featured Game Mode inside the live League of Legends client, not a separate server or standalone download. It sits in the same rotating category as Arena and URF and will appear in the in-client mode picker when it goes live.
Riot announced the mode through a comedic video titled "200 Years of Experience | Dev Update," starring Executive Producer Paul "Pabro" Bellezza and League Studio head Andrei "Meddler" van Roon. The two run through references to Season 1 gameplay, Season 2 jungle pathing, Heart of Gold, the 40-champion beta roster, and old visual styles for champions like Lux and Graves. The video ends with Riot landing on the name "League Classic" after rejecting alternatives including "Clash of Fates" and "Your Favorite League." The mode's internal development codename was Jade.
What Returns: Champions, Items, and Systems
PBE datamining and Meddler's public comments give a clear picture of what League Classic includes. Meddler confirmed the single most important detail on Reddit: "yes, we're doing old gameplay kits."
What the datamine shows (not officially confirmed until July 11):
- Old champion kits — pre-rework versions of every champion in the mode's roster
- Original Rune system — the pre-2017 rune pages and mastery talent trees, not current Runes Reforged
- Influence Points (IP) — replacing Blue Essence as the mode's currency
- Summoner leveling 1–30 — a separate progression track inside the mode, independent of your live account level
- Separate shop — with classic items, including Heart of Gold, Deathfire Grasp, and Frozen Mallet
- Original Summoner's Rift map visuals — the old map look, separate from any live-game visual updates
- Battle pass and token system — mode-specific rewards track
- Voting mechanic — present in the datamine; even dataminers have not identified what it does
The Classic Champion Roster
59 champions appear on the wiki's datamined roster (Riot's "approximately 60" framing accounts for a few additional names found in datamine videos but not yet on the wiki): Ahri, Alistar, Amumu, Anivia, Annie, Ashe, Blitzcrank, Brand, Cho'Gath, Dr. Mundo, Evelynn, Ezreal, Fiddlesticks, Gangplank, Garen, Gragas, Heimerdinger, Janna, Jarvan IV, Jax, Karthus, Katarina, Kayle, Kog'Maw, Lee Sin, Leona, Lulu, Lux, Malphite, Malzahar, Master Yi, Miss Fortune, Morgana, Nasus, Nidalee, Nunu, Olaf, Pantheon, Rammus, Ryze, Shaco, Singed, Sivir, Skarner, Sona, Soraka, Taric, Teemo, Tristana, Tryndamere, Twisted Fate, Twitch, Urgot, Vayne, Veigar, Warwick, Wukong, and Zilean.
The roster covers roughly the early Season 1 champion pool. Notable datamined absences include Mordekaiser, Galio, and Udyr. The official count and final roster will be confirmed at the July 11 reveal.
Meddler singled out one champion he is personally most excited to revisit: "Old Urgot's actually the kit I'm most excited to play personally, I like new Urgot as well, but old Urgot mid against people who usually had no clue what he did was a lot of fun."
What Era Will League Classic Be?
Riot has not named a target patch or season. The announcement video deliberately cycles through multiple periods: the 40-champion Beta, Season 1 gameplay, Season 2 jungle pathing, and Season 4 visual references. "Your Favorite League" was the name Riot nearly settled on, and that framing signals a curated experience rather than a single frozen patch.
The datamined champion list stopping around 60 champions aligns with the early Season 1 pool, but whether League Classic will fix on one patch, offer player voting on which era or features to include, or roll out in phases is among the open questions July 11 should answer.
League Classic Release Date
No launch date has been announced. The next concrete milestone is the full reveal at the MSI 2026 Finals on July 11, 2026 at 11pm PDT in Daejeon, South Korea.
Because League Classic is a Featured Game Mode, access will not require a separate client download. When the mode goes live it will appear in the in-client mode picker, the same place Arena and URF show up during their rotations. The mode includes its own summoner leveling track from 1 to 30, so no new account is needed. Launch date, regions, and full queue details will be announced July 11.
League Classic vs WoW Classic: What's Different
The WoW Classic comparison has appeared in nearly every article covering this announcement. It is a useful shorthand for "an officially sanctioned recreation of an older version of the game," but three practical differences matter for understanding what League Classic actually is:
| WoW Classic | League Classic | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Permanent separate server | Featured game mode inside the live client |
| Era | Launched as Patch 1.12; expanded to TBC, Wrath, Cata Classic | Curated across eras ("Your Favorite League") |
| Access | Separate client, separate account | Same client; separate in-mode leveling track |
| Permanence | Ongoing (expanded to TBC Classic, Wrath Classic) | Unknown; Featured Modes typically rotate |
In short: think of League Classic as a rotating event mode with its own self-contained progression, not a permanent parallel game. For how it fits alongside every other current queue, see all League of Legends game modes compared.
League Classic FAQ
Is League Classic a separate game or a game mode?
It is a Featured Game Mode inside the standard League of Legends client, not a separate game or standalone server. No separate download is required.
Will League Classic be free?
League of Legends is free to play and League Classic will be accessible through the same client. A battle pass and token system are datamined, suggesting optional paid or earnable cosmetics, but the exact monetization model has not been announced.
What champions will be in League Classic?
59 champions are listed in the wiki's datamined roster, with datamine videos suggesting approximately 60 total. All use pre-rework versions of their old kits. The official roster will be announced at the MSI 2026 Finals on July 11, 2026.
When does League Classic launch?
No launch date has been announced. Full details are scheduled for July 11, 2026, at the MSI 2026 Finals. This article will be updated after that reveal.
