Riot confirms League of Legends Classic after PBE leak

Riot Games confirmed League of Legends Classic after an accidental public beta (PBE) leak and published a developer update. The studio set a full reveal for Saturday, July 11 at 11pm PDT (Sunday, July 12 at 2am EDT / 7am BST / 8am CEST).

The confirmation followed an unintended PBE posting that exposed significant Classic assets. A developer video featuring Executive Producer Paul “Pabro” Bellezza and Head of League Studio Andrei “Meddler” van Roon accompanied the announcement. In the video Bellezza asks, “What is League to you?” as part of a staged presentation.

Van Roon wrote on Reddit that Riot had planned to tease Classic ahead of the MSI Finals, but the leak led the team to accelerate its public timeline: “Given we leaked a lot onto PBE today we figured better to just start the train rolling properly.” He added that the leak made the near-term reveal unavoidable.

Riot says League of Legends Classic will restore earlier-era gameplay elements inside the current client. The mode is expected to include older champion kits and legacy systems such as classic-style Runes and the Summoner Mastery trees. Van Roon confirmed the lineup is “not just the original 40” champions and noted that Graves will be included, while declining to publish a full roster at this time.

Technical work was required to bring Classic into the live client. Developers reported they rebuilt or resurrected client functions as needed so Classic can run on the “modern tech under the hood.” Riot said the mode will follow the 2026 League system requirements because it operates within the current client infrastructure.

Riot acknowledged the leak caused frustration but described the situation as manageable. Van Roon wrote he was “little grumpy” about the near miss on timing and said the studio has contingency plans for unexpected disclosures. Developers also noted they plan to iterate after launch if elements prove incorrect or need adjustment.

The full League Classic reveal will take place on July 11 at 11pm PDT (July 12 at 2am EDT). Riot indicated it will publish additional Classic details, including the complete champion lineup and specific gameplay mechanics, ahead of launch. The studio also plans to reveal more information about League Next at Worlds in October.

Earlier, we reported that Riot Games plans to deploy LoL patch 26.13 on June 24, 2026. The update will add a new champion, Locke, and include a number of targeted champion and item adjustments