League of Legends Classic to End in January, Return as Event Mode
League of Legends Classic is closing after less than six months online.
Riot Games will keep the throwback mode running through the rest of Season 3 before ending its current run in January 2027, Eurogamer reported.
Classic launched in July this year as a separate way to play League of Legends, the team-based PC game where two sides of five champions fight to break into the other base. It was built for nostalgia. It brought back early champions, old items and old systems, including AP Yi, a version of the swordsman built around ability power rather than sword strikes, plus Deathfire Grasp, Fortify and 1% Crit Runes, quirks that long-time players will remember from the game's first years.
It did not stick.
Riot said most players who tried Classic have since gone back to other parts of League of Legends. The mode drew curiosity at launch but could not hold a large regular crowd inside a game that already offers ranked ladders, casual queues and rotating modes.
There is still time to play. Classic stays available through the end of Season 3 Act II until 6 January 2027, according to Riot Games support pages. Its paid progression track, the League Classic Pass, ends slightly earlier, on 4 January 2027 at 11:59pm PT. A pass, in plain terms, is a seasonal list of rewards that unlocks as you play. The dates were published on 15 October 2026, giving players about twelve weeks to wrap up.
Money spent on looks is coming back. Cosmetic microtransactions, small paid extras that change how a champion appears without changing how strong it is, bought for Classic will be refunded in Riot Points, the currency players buy with real money and spend inside Riot's games. Those points can then be spent elsewhere in the shop on skins and other customised extras. Players will not need to ask for the return.
Three fan favourites are still on the way. Volibear, Urgot and Udyr will still release for Classic as planned before the shutdown, giving collectors and old-school players a final set of launches to try in the throwback rules.
This is not a full goodbye. Riot plans to bring Classic back in the future, likely as an event mode with adjustments and additions rather than as a permanent second game. That would put it alongside other limited-time modes that appear for a few weeks, then leave.
What makes this stand out is the speed of the turn. A July launch to a January close is a short life for a separate way to play. For fans, this means a final few months to revisit old builds, finish the pass and carry any refunded points back into the main game.
