'League of Legends Classic' (hereinafter 'LoL Classic'), which generated significant buzz by recreating the early Summoner's Rift, will end its current service in January next year at the conclusion of 2026 Season 3. Ahead of this, starting with the upcoming Patch 26.21, the Korean server will transition to windowed queue operations, where queues open only during designated hours to ensure smoother matchmaking.
| 📒 | - Riot Games to end current service for 'LoL Classic' in January 2027 as players return to the main game, seeking to reintroduce it as an event mode in the future - Starting with Patch 26.21, the Korean server transitions to a windowed queue with matchmaking open only from 4:00 PM to midnight on weekdays and 10:00 AM to 1:00 AM on weekends - Act 2 Battle Pass operated with a fully free track; legacy champions including Volibear, Urgot, and Udyr to be added through Patch 26.23 |
On October 14 (local time), Andrei van Roon (Meddler), Head of League Studio at Riot Games, and Paul Bellezza (Pabro), Executive Producer, announced operational changes for 'LoL Classic' taking effect with the start of Season 3 Act 2 via an official developer blog post.
The biggest change is the end of always-on service. Officially released on July 30, 'LoL Classic' evoked nostalgia for many players by restoring early game mechanics such as Ability Power (AP) Master Yi, Deathfire Grasp, and legacy runes and masteries. However, the majority of players who enjoyed the memories early after launch have now returned to the modern main game. Consequently, the development team decided to maintain current service only until January 2027, when 2026 Season 3 ends, and temporarily sunset the mode. The goal moving forward is to reintroduce it as a time-limited event mode featuring new changes and content.
To mitigate issues with longer queue times and widening MMR (Matchmaking Rating) gaps between players caused by player drop-off, region-specific matchmaking will also be adjusted starting in the upcoming Patch 26.21. Servers in Korea, Latin America North and South, Taiwan, Vietnam, Turkey, Southeast Asia, Oceania, and Russia will transition to a "Windowed Queue," where matchmaking is active only during designated hours. The operating hours for these regions, based on local server time, will be 4:00 PM to midnight on weekdays (Monday–Friday) and 10:00 AM to 1:00 AM the following day on weekends (Saturday–Sunday).
For the Japan (JP1) and Middle East (ME1) servers, where play rates are especially low, regular matchmaking queues will close starting in Patch 26.21, leaving only custom games supported. Standard custom games will remain available 24/7 without time restrictions across all regions, including Korea.
The monetization model and store layout are also being revamped. The Classic Battle Pass for Season 3 Act 2 will operate solely with a single free track, with no paid offerings, allowing all players to earn rewards for free. Following Patch 26.21, the Classic Store will only sell champions, runes, and rune pages, while refunds will be issued for Classic-exclusive purchased content that will become unusable due to the service sunset.
The addition of new (legacy) champions will continue as scheduled during the remaining operation period. Following Irelia, Karma, Quinn, Aatrox, and Caitlyn in the recently applied Patch 26.20, Mordekaiser, Yorick, Hecarim, and Lucian will join in Patch 26.21. The developers plan to steadily release champions in every patch through Patch 26.23, including Volibear, Urgot, and Udyr, who took the top three spots in the recent community vote, the "Classic Council."
