League of Legends Classic was Riot's attempt to capitalise on nostalgia for vintage-era LoL. It stripped away most of the champions and kits introduced since 2013, reverted to an older version of the Summoner's Rift map, and promised to roll out "new" old Champions at a faster clip than in the olden days.
But the nostalgia Riot must have hoped would sustain the mode hasn't proven sufficient enough to keep it running: the mode will go offline in January 2027, only six months after its launch.
"We’ve seen a lot of players have fun revisiting the olden days with Classic," a Riot spokesperson wrote in a new update. "At this point though, most have gone back to other parts of League."
As a result, the current season will be the last. "We’ll then put Classic back in the box for now, with the goal of bringing it back, likely as an event mode with adjustments and additions."
It continues: "There’s more we’re going to share in the future about what we learned from this run. That includes where we think we got Classic right, where we could have gone more classic, and where sticking too closely to the past may have held the experience back."
Refunds will be issued for Classic content rendered obsolete by the closure. And it's not the end of the line yet: there are at least seven more Champions still to roll out, including Mordekaiser, Yorick, Hecarim and Lucian in the forthcoming 26.21 update, and Vilibear, Urgot and Udyr in future ones.
"This game mode was a true labor of love from so many Rioters, and seeing you all dive back in to reclaim the nostalgia, reconnect with old friends, and relive your glory days made it a truly special moment for everyone. We will keep exploring different ways to play League and as always, we appreciate all of your feedback. Every post on social media asking for Classic, every vote cast in the Council, and every minute spent leashing for your jungler again helped us bring this to life, so thank you very much."
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What was wrong with Classic? Back in August, League of Legends esports veteran Alex Chu (also known as Xpecial) offered his thoughts on why uptake might be slow for players accustomed to modern LoL. His words came at a time when a lot of the LoL community were criticising the concept.
"Classic was never going to be a huge success at launch, because everyone has a different version of classic. I love this version. I recognize every champion and every item, and I know the ward system like the back of my hand. But most players started after me, and for them this isn't their classic, it's just an old game. The launch was always going to be a nostalgia bomb that fades. That part was priced in."
Chu then speculated a future for Classic that never eventuated, or at least, likely won't now.
"The interesting part is what happens now that the reins are loosened," he added. "We could end up with a version of League that players vote for things that would never fly with a mass audience. More complicated drafts. The ability to ban a champion for an entire season. Forcing a marksman mid meta or a mage bot meta just because the council wants to see it. Modern League can't do any of that, because modern League has to appeal to everyone. Classic only has to appeal to enough people."
Chu's thoughts aside, it's possible that old LoL just doesn't have the nostalgic appeal of old World of Warcraft, old Runescape, or old Guild Wars. Those are spaces you inhabit and they are generally less high pressure and adversarial. They become a kind of home away from home, whereas LoL is always just a hugely competitive MOBA. A good one that you can build a lifestyle around, but a MMORPG it ain't.
LoL also evolves much faster than those older MMOs did. Back in 2013, LoL was receiving new champions every two to three weeks, which could affect the whole experience. By contrast, MMOs at the time generally only received seismic updates on a yearly basis at most: much more time for a game condition to sink in.
Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.
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