League of Legends Classic launches for free on July 29th

Riot Games has fully unveiled League of Legends Classic, confirming it will launch for free on July 29th as part of Patch 26.15. The studio shared the details during the MSI 2026 Finals tournament, revealing that the throwback mode will be integrated directly into the existing Riot Client.

According to an official FAQ, the mode is a melting pot of classic features rather than a direct reset to version 1.0. Executive Producer Paul Bellezza explained that the concept originated during an internal “Thunderdome” hackathon where developers prototyped a setup based on Season 3 from 2012-2013. It's designed to serve as a “greatest hits” collection representing that specific era.

The experience will debut with the original 40 champions, along with 20 additional classic characters. Players can look forward to the return of old-school champion and rune selection, as well as the classic mastery system with its offense, defense, and utility skill trees.

This release follows a broader industry trend of throwback versions, seen in titles like World of Warcraft Classic and Fortnite OG. You'll be able to access League of Legends Classic inside the standard game client starting on July 29th.

KitGuru says: Throwback modes are proving incredibly popular for long-running live-service games. What other game do you think deserves a similar throwback mode?

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