{"rewrite":{"id":"r_3c332d1800e7d76b75de0ce0","clusterId":"c_e6063ea5491301938db383cb","slug":"riot-will-close-league-of-legends-classic-in-january-2027","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"Riot Will Close League Of Legends Classic In January 2027","summary":"Riot Games announced on October 15 that League of Legends Classic will end once at the close of Season 3, making the mode unplayable in January 2027. The company cited a decline in users, with most players returning to the current League of Legends. Riot says it aims to bring the mode back later as a limited-time event with adjustments.","whyItMatters":"A nostalgia mode built on the 2013 Season 3 state of the game could not hold its population against the live client, so Riot is folding it back into event-mode status rather than running it as a standing queue.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eThe shutdown arrives with updates still running. Patch 26.21 adds Mordekaiser, Yorick, Hecarim, and Lucian, and new champions are set to arrive through 26.23. On the Japanese server, online matchmaking becomes unavailable with 26.21, after which play is limited to custom games. Refunds will be issued for Classic-exclusive content such as Classic Portraits, with details on the support page.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRiot attributed the closure to population decline: matchmaking wait times grew longer in some regions and MMR disparities widened. The mode launched on July 30, free to play, based on Season 3 in 2013 but with modernized systems. League of Legends itself is free to play on PC.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Riot will end League of Legends Classic at the close of Season 3, unplayable in January 2027. The company cited falling users, longer matchmaking waits and wider MMR gaps in some regions. It plans to return the mode later as a limited-time event.","twitterPost":"Riot will end League of Legends Classic at the close of Season 3, unplayable in January 2027. Falling users, longer queues and wider MMR gaps were cited. Riot says it aims to bring the mode back later as a limited-time event.","threadsPost":null,"newsletterBlurb":"Riot Games will close League of Legends Classic at the end of Season 3, making the mode unplayable in January 2027. The company cited a population decline, longer matchmaking waits in some regions and wider MMR disparities. Riot says it aims to return the mode in the future as a limited-time event with adjustments.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Automaton\",\"url\":\"https://automaton-media.com/articles/newsjp/league-of-legends-20261015-473552/\",\"title\":\"Playable Old 'LoL' Mode 'League of Legends Classic' to End 'For Now' in Just Half a Year; Users Went Back to 'Current LoL'\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":4503,"outputTokens":620,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1792036334,"createdAt":"2026-10-15T03:48:38.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-10-15T03:51:06.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-15T03:51:06.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_e6063ea5491301938db383cb","canonicalTitle":"昔の『LoL』が遊べる『リーグ・オブ・レジェンド クラシック』、わずか半年で“一旦”終了へ。ユーザーが“今の『LoL』”に戻っちゃったので","representativeArticleId":"a_89fb86e8ae12df3d27fbb622","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"League of Legends Classic\",\"League of Legends\"],\"studios\":[\"Riot Games\"],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-10-15T02:37:15.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-10-15T02:37:15.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-15T03:51:06.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Automaton","url":"https://automaton-media.com/articles/newsjp/league-of-legends-20261015-473552/","title":"昔の『LoL』が遊べる『リーグ・オブ・レジェンド クラシック』、わずか半年で“一旦”終了へ。ユーザーが“今の『LoL』”に戻っちゃったので"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["League of Legends Classic","League of Legends"],"studios":["Riot Games"],"people":[],"type":"news","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":null}