Riot Games has announced a large-scale update plan to redesign the technical foundations of League of Legends (LoL) as the game enters its 17th year of live service. The announcement was originally scheduled to be revealed at the start of next January’s season, but Riot decided to move up the timeline in order to prevent the spread of rumors sparked by reports from overseas media outlets.

In the early hours of the 19th (KST), Riot Games published a video titled “Developer Update: League Beyond 2026” on its official YouTube channel. At the opening of the video, Andrei van Roon, Head of League Studios, explained, “This was planned for a January reveal, but due to some recent speculation circulating, we decided to share the details earlier than planned.”

The announcement was prompted by reports from international media such as Bloomberg and IGN earlier that morning, which stated that “Riot Games is preparing a total overhaul of League of Legends.”

Following those reports, speculation quickly spread across North American and European communities, while the news remained relatively unknown within Korean communities. As a result, domestic players perceived the announcement as a sudden, unanticipated reveal. A representative from Riot Games Korea commented, “With rumors spreading overseas first, it appears the headquarters decided to move up the video release to prevent confusion.”

According to the video, Riot Games is currently working toward modernizing the game’s core infrastructure, with the goal of implementation set for 2027.

The key changes include: ▲ the construction of an integrated client (around-game client) that combines out-of-game lobby functions with the in-game experience, ▲ a full visual overhaul of the Summoner’s Rift map, and ▲ gameplay and rune system changes linked to the visual update. Through these measures, Riot aims to resolve long-standing issues related to client stability while upgrading overall graphical quality to meet modern standards.

Riot also firmly dismissed speculation about the release of a sequel. The developers explicitly stated, “There are no plans to create LoL 2,” emphasizing that the approach will involve upgrading the game environment while preserving existing player data.

Specific technical specifications and in-game footage were not included in the video. Riot Games Korea stated, “At this time, the contents of the released video represent the entirety of our official position, and more detailed information will be disclosed at a later date.”

Riot Games plans to share additional information between next year’s Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) and the World Championship.

This article was translated from the original that appeared on INVEN.