Riot Games is sunsetting League of Legends Classic, its throwback mode that launched in July, at the close of Season 3 in early January 2027. The company said in a blog post that interest faded quickly after launch, with many players going back to other parts of League. In the interim, Riot will introduce windowed queues in regions where long wait times have been an issue and will continue adding champions to the Classic pool through the rest of 2026.
Classic was Riot's attempt to tap into nostalgia for older versions of its long-running MOBA, a strategy that has worked for Blizzard's World of Warcraft Classic. So far, though, Riot has not found a balance that keeps players engaged over the long term. The developer says it plans to bring Classic back in the future, likely as an event mode with adjustments and additions based on feedback, so the work on recreating past eras of League may not be wasted.