A new League of Legends is coming soon.

Riot Games has confirmed it is developing the biggest update yet for League of Legends. Photo: Bloomberg .

Riot Games is preparing a massive overhaul for League of Legends, its flagship game that has been around for over a decade and currently attracts over 100 million monthly players. Internally known as League Next, this project is considered the most ambitious update in the game's history and is expected to launch in 2027.

According to Bloomberg , Riot has been quietly working on a comprehensive overhaul of League of Legends for years. Five current and former Riot employees have stated that League Next is not simply a major patch; it will be a complete overhaul aimed at reshaping the core experience of the game, from technology and visuals to gameplay systems.

Riot Games has officially confirmed the information. The company acknowledges that it is developing a major update for League of Legends but denies that it is a standalone successor titled “League of Legends 2,” as some had previously speculated. Earlier in November, a source in the Chinese esports community suggested that Riot was developing LoL 2 and that it could be released as early as the second half of 2026.

In a video discussing the direction of League of Legends after 2026, Paul Belleza, the game's production director, confirmed that Riot is not developing League 2 as rumored. However, he confirmed that the team is working on a large-scale update, expected to launch in 2027. According to Belleza, this is a necessary step for League of Legends to continue its long-term development, rather than splitting into a completely new version.

Andrei van Roon, Head of League Studio, then shared more about the key areas of focus in the upgrade plan. Most notably, Riot is building a completely new client, deeply integrated with the in-game experience, to address long-standing shortcomings. In addition, Summoner's Rift, the main map of League of Legends, will undergo a complete visual overhaul.

League Next will feature new gameplay and graphics. Photo: IGN Nordric .

Beyond graphics, Riot also plans to adjust key gameplay systems. This includes changes to the Rune system, along with numerous improvements to enhance the overall experience for players of all ages, from newcomers to veteran players. According to Riot's leadership, League Next is envisioned to have a similar impact to the major graphics rework in the mid-2010s, which helped League of Legends achieve explosive growth and a massive global player base.

One of the key goals of this update is to attract new players, as League of Legends has reached a mature stage and faces increasingly fierce competition from other online games. Riot believes that upgrading the technology and visuals is essential for the game to maintain its appeal for many years to come.

Regarding the information release timeline, Belleza and van Roon stated that Riot will share more details about League Next sometime between the MSI Summer Split and the Worlds Fall Split in 2026. While the specific release date hasn't been announced, it's likely the update will launch sometime between late November and early January, a period when professional leagues are on break, to minimize the impact on the League of Legends esports ecosystem.