// PC GAMER — GAMING
3 months after launch, Riot announces League of Legends Classic will be killed in January: 'most have gone back to other parts of League'
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League of Legends Classic was Riot's attempt to capitalise on nostalgia for vintage-era LoL. It stripped away most of the champions and kits introduced since 2013, reverted to an older version of the Summoner's Rift map, and promised to roll out "new" old Champions at a faster clip than in the olden days.
But the nostalgia Riot must have hoped would sustain the mode hasn't proven sufficient enough to keep it running: the mode will go offline in January 2027, only six months after its launch.
"We’ve seen a lot of players have fun revisiting the olden days with Classic," a Riot spokesperson wrote in a new update. "At this point though, most have gone back to other parts of League."
As a result, the current season will be the last. "We’ll then put Classic back in the box for now, with the goal of bringing it back, likely as an event mode with adjustments and additions."
It continues: "There’s more we’re going to share in the future about what we learned from this run. That includes where we think we got Classic right, where we could have gone more classic, and where sticking too closely to the past may have held the experience back."
Refunds will be issued for Classic content rendered obsolete by the closure. And it's not the end of the line yet: there are at least seven more Champions still to roll out, including Mordekaiser, Yorick, Hecarim and Lucian in the forthcoming 26.21 update, and Vilibear, Urgot and Udyr in future ones.
"This game mode was a true labor of love from so many Rioters, and seeing you all dive back in to reclaim the nostalgia, reconnect with old friends, and relive your glory days made it a truly special moment for everyone. We will keep exploring different ways to play League and as always, we appreciate all of your feedback. Every post on social media asking for Classic, every vote cast in the Council, and every minute spent leashing for your jungler again helped us bring this to life, so thank you very much."
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What was wrong with Classic? Back in August, League of Legends esports veteran Alex Chu (also known as Xpecial) offered his thoughts on why uptake might be slow for players accustomed to modern LoL. His words came at a time when a lot of the LoL community were criticising the concept.