Source: Riot Games. Verified against multiple sources; datamines and reports are labelled as such, not stated as fact.
What Happened
Patch 26.22 adds old versions of Volibear, Swain and Elise, and one more content patch, 26.23, comes before League Classic ends its current run in January 2027.
Riot's throwback mode has one content patch left, and its developers say sticking too closely to the past may have held it back. That mode is League Classic, which recreates the game's early years with old runes, masteries, items and pre-rework kits.
New old champions
- Penultimate patch. Riot's November 3 notes open the Classic section with "Our penultimate content patch arrives with three new old champions to play."
- Old Volibear. Classic brings back the Volibear that was active from 2011 to 2018.
- Old Swain. The Classic Swain is the version active from 2010 to 2016.
- Old Elise. Riot says this older Elise "put a lot more power into her Q spells."
Balance and rewards
- Balance pass. Riot adjusted 10 Classic champions: Amumu, Evelynn, Ezreal, Fiddlesticks, Gangplank, Janna, Mordekaiser, Nami, Olaf and Rammus.
- Tailwind nerf. Janna's global Tailwind movement speed drops from 3% to 2%.
- Two fixes. Aatrox and Mordekaiser also get fixes.
- Token mistake. Per-game Classic Pass tokens rise 50% for the rest of Classic's run, after Riot admitted a configuration mistake.
- New skin. Prestige Classic Baron Kog'Maw ships in 26.22.
How Classic ends
- July launch. Classic launched July 29 with 60 champions.
- Last content patch. New Classic champions release each patch through 26.23, which makes that the final content patch.
- January exit. Riot's Meddler and Pabro wrote on October 14 that Classic "will be available through the rest of Season 3 and will then end its current run in January 2027."
- No exact day. Riot's post gives no day. One outlet reports January 6, 2027, and that date has a single source.
- Players moved on. Of Classic's players, the same post says "most have gone back to other parts of League." Riot has published no player numbers.
- Likely event mode. The post points to Classic returning later as an event mode.
- Custom games. Japan and MENA, the Middle East and North Africa, moved to custom matches only from Patch 26.21. Classic Custom games stay available in all regions.
- Lessons post. Riot says it will share where it "got Classic right" and "where sticking too closely to the past may have held the experience back."
What This Means for the Riot MMO
Riot has not linked League Classic to its MMO, so everything here is our read of the mode's wind-down, set against what Marc Merrill said about the 2024 reset.
- Merrill's reason. Riot co-founder Marc Merrill said of the MMO's March 2024 reset that "the initial vision just wasn't different enough from what you can play today."
- Short nostalgia. Riot's post came 11 weeks after Classic launched, so the nostalgia spike didn't hold most players long.
- Event windows. A return as an event mode favors short, repeatable windows over a permanent separate game, a live-service pattern an MMO could also use.
- Old kits moved. Classic ran on its own balance track, so even kits meant to be preserved needed live tuning.
- Forever timing. World of Warcraft: Forever, Blizzard's reimagined take on its old world, goes live November 4 at 3:00 p.m. PST, one day after the 26.22 notes.
Our read. Riot has now voiced the same doubt twice, once about the MMO's first vision and once about Classic, and that points away from a straight retro pitch for a Runeterra MMO. Riot hasn't linked Classic to the MMO, and the MMO's scope is unrevealed, so this is our read of a company decision. The lessons post has no date yet.
What to Watch
Your Take
Should the Riot MMO lean on nostalgia for League's early years?
Reported from Riot Games and corroborating coverage. The MMO read is ours and clearly speculative. Analysis by RuneGrove.
