Riot Games Ends League of Legends Classic Just Three Months After Its Launch as a Live Mode

League of Legends Classic, the rebuilt version of the popular MOBA, will be shut down at the end of the current season. The reason given is simple: most players have moved to other League of Legends regions.

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"Most have returned to other parts of the league."

League of Legends Classic, the remake of the popular old MOBA, will be retired at the end of this season. The reason given is simple: most players have moved to other regions of League of Legends.

First released in July of this year, LoL Classic implicitly has the potential to be a permanent add-on, though such aspirations seem to have quickly ended. Instead, it will go offline next January, with a planned return possibly as a limited-time mode in the future with plenty of changes.

In an official blog post by Riot Games, the League team writes: "We've seen a lot of players enjoy reliving the days of Classic with Classic. But at this point, most of them have returned to other parts of League. So Classic will be available until the end of Season 3 and then end its current run in January 2027. Then we'll bring Classic back to the box, and most likely set up Classic mode as an event."

"We'll be sharing more about what we learned from this run in the future. This includes where we think we got the classic right, where we could have gone more classic, and where clinging too much to the past might have held back the experience. Please continue to tell us what you liked and didn't like about the classic. Your feedback is an important part of how we make our games and is always appreciated."

Those who purchased cosmetic microtransactions for LoL Classic will be refunded in the premium currency of Riot Points. Scheduled classic heroes, including Volibear, Urgot, and Udyr, will continue to be released as scheduled. There's no word on when exactly LoL Classic will return after its shutdown, and what changes the team has in mind for the new iteration.

League of Legends Classic was initially met with excitement by long-time LoL fans, although the game mode was met with controversy due to its micro-transaction model. While the heroes had their own set of vintage moves, to get the retro look players had to earn them through a special Classic Battle Pass or purchase them with real-world moolah. Many have found that charging classic skins in classic game mode is a step too far.

While League Classic fans may be saddened by the news that this mode will soon be removed, the silver lining here is that the proposed return of League Classic could provide a better experience that will keep a large portion of players hooked for longer. Fingers crossed the next effort comes in a big way.