Riot Games has outlined sweeping gameplay and quality-of-life changes coming to League of Legends in Season 1 2026, marking one of the largest seasonal pivots in recent years. The update arrived in the team’s final Dev Update video of 2025, featuring Paul “Pabro” Bellezza, Andrei “Meddler” Van Roon, David “Phreak” Turley, Nick “Riot Endstep” Frijia, Darcy “Dashijador” Ludington, and Kellye “Riot CallMeKT” Smith. Most announced changes will appear on the PBE on Dec. 3, with a full rollout to live servers on Jan. 7.

Next season will lean heavily into Demacia as its central theme. The 2026 cinematic will spotlight key Demacian champions, while Summoner’s Rift will be visually overhauled with petricite structures and gold-and-blue motifs. The Act 1 Battle Pass will include Demacia-themed skins for several non-Demacian champions, alongside a Prestige skin for Morgana.

Riot says the season’s narrative and cosmetic identity will reflect “old school Demacia,” during what the team describes as the kingdom’s golden era.

Major Gameplay Changes

Season 1 will introduce a reworked Summoner’s Rift experience, reducing early-game downtime by starting matches 35 seconds sooner. Several long-standing mechanics are being removed, including Atakhan and Bloody Roses, while a new system called Crystalline Overgrowth adds a universal three-hit demolish effect to all turrets. Turret plates will now appear not only on outer towers but also on inner and inhibitor structures, though without increasing total available gold.

Vision and map-control tools are also expanding through Faelights—temporary vision points that empower placed wards. Itemization will see both new and returning items, with critical strike damage reverting to its traditional 200%.

Riot is also adding Role Quests for top, mid, and bot lanes, building on existing jungle and support quests. Each lane will gain unique progression mechanics and bonuses: top lane will receive a higher level cap and more XP; mid lane will get free tier-three boots and a faster recall; bot lane will earn extra gold and a seventh item slot. Jungle and support roles will also receive resource gains and utility adjustments.

Autofill matchmaking will be refined, introducing Aegis of Valor—a bonus that grants double LP on wins or mitigated losses for players who perform at a C grade or higher in autofilled games. Swiftplay, meanwhile, inherits most of the Summoner’s Rift adjustments while accelerating match pacing, removing early objectives, and starting players at level three.

Additional updates include reduced Champ Select time, a climb indicator in Ranked loading screens, better Flex MMR alignment, the return of duo queue in Apex tiers, and full WASD controls launching Dec. 2.