Overview
- Riot unveiled League of Legends Classic at the MSI 2026 Finals and will add the mode to the existing Riot Client for free on July 29 as part of Patch 26.15.
- The mode restores key Season 3 systems including old runes, the offense/defense/utility mastery trees, original items and maps to recreate early metas like AP Master Yi and pre-rework Sion.
- Classic will launch with roughly 60 champions — the original 40 plus about 20 additional legacy champions — with some characters unlocked over time under a phased rollout.
- Riot says it will publish a developer blog and open a Public Beta Environment (PBE) before launch to clarify details such as skin handling, exact champion cadence, and visual toggles.
- Player reaction is mixed over the era-mashup and modernized models, and Riot’s plan to let the community vote on future patches ties Classic to a wider trend of nostalgia modes that evolve by player choice.