3 Months After Launch, Riot Announces League of Legends Classic Will Be Shut Down in January: "Most Have Returned to Other Parts of the League".

New Champions Will Continue to Be Introduced.

New heroes will continue to be introduced now.

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League of Legends Classic was Riot's attempt to capitalize on the nostalgia of old LoL. It removed many of the heroes and kits introduced since 2013, reverted to an older version of the Summoner's Rift map, and promised to release "new" old heroes at a faster clip than in days past.

But Riot Nostalgia has to hope that the mode hasn't proven itself well enough to continue: The mode will go offline in January 2027, just six months after launch.

A Riot spokesperson wrote in the new update: “We've seen a lot of players enjoy revisiting days gone by with Classic. However, at this stage, most have returned to other parts of the league."

As a result, the current season will be the last season. "We'll be re-boxing Classic for now, with the aim of bringing it back, possibly as an event mode with tweaks and additions."

"In the future we'll be sharing more about what we learned from this race. This includes where we think we got the classic right, where we could have gone more classic, and where being too close to the past might have stalled the experience," he continues.

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Refunds will be issued for Classic Content that is obsolete upon closing. And that's not the end of the line: there are at least seven more champions still to come, including Mordekaiser, Yorick, Hecarim, and Lucian in the upcoming 26.21 update, and Vilibear, Urgot, and Udyr in future releases.

"This game mode was a true labor of love on the part of many Rebels, and seeing you all come out to relive the nostalgia, reconnect with old friends, and relive your glory days made it a truly special moment for everyone. We'll continue to explore different ways to play League, and as always, we appreciate all your feedback. Every post on social media asking for every vote on the Classic Council, every voter on social media. Helped us again to bring this to life, so thank you very much."

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What was wrong with classic? Back in August, Legends veteran Alex Chu (also known as Xpecial) offered his thoughts on why it might be slow for players used to modern LoL. His words came at a time when many in the LoL community were criticizing the concept.

A former League of Legends competitor in eSports

"Classic was never a big hit at launch, because everyone has different classics. I love this version. I know every hero and every item, and I know the ward system like the back of my hand. But most players started after me, and to them it's not their classic, it's just an old game. The launch was always going to be a nostalgia bomb that undercuts that part."

Chu then speculated on a future for the classic that never happened, or at least probably won't happen now.

"The interesting part is what happens now that the reins are loosened," he added. We could get a version of the league where players vote on things that never pan out. More complex drafts. Ability to ban a champion for an entire season. Forcing a sniper into the meta or 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.

Cho's thoughts aside, old LoL may not have the nostalgic appeal of old World of Warcraft, old Runescape, or old Guild Wars. These are the spaces you live in and they're usually less high-pressure and the animosity becomes a kind of home away from home, whereas LoL is always just a very competitive MOBA. A nice way to make a living in it, but an MMORPG it isn't.

LoL also evolves much faster than older MMOs. In 2013, LoL was getting new champions every two to three weeks, which could affect the entire experience. By contrast, MMOs back then generally received seismic updates annually at most: much more time to soak in game conditions.

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years of experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared in GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, Sydney Morning Herald and more. Special interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games, and FPS. He thinks Metallica and Lou Reed's Lulu is an all-time classic that will one day be reevaluated by critics.

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