League of Legends Replays Become Private in Patch 26.20

Riot Games’ Patch 26.20 restricts League of Legends replay access to matches a player participated in. Players can no longer use the game’s replay system to view older matches played by others.

Players can still review their own games. Replays of other users’ matches are no longer available through the system, making match footage accessible only to participants.

In the patch notes, Riot described the restriction as an effort to “close some security vulnerabilities that have recently been exploited by cheat developers and other bad actors to build unauthorized tools around League game data.”

The update also limits third-party access to the game’s memory for related security reasons. Riot linked to a support article with more information about those restrictions, but the article was unavailable at the time of reporting.

The change removes a tool used to study high-level matches, champion choices, decision-making and unusual plays. League of Legends coaches and YouTube channels that publish Challenger-level replays may have less footage available for analysis and video content.

The restriction applies to matches a player did not join, including games that were previously available for viewing. It does not prevent players from reviewing matches they played themselves.