League of Legends Classic launches July 29 — Season 3 is back inside the modern client
Riot Games is giving longtime fans what they've been asking for: an official Season 3 throwback mode for League of Legends, arriving July 29 at 17:00 CEST (11 a.m. EDT). Unlike WoW Classic, there are no era-locked servers — League Classic lives inside the existing Riot Client as a featured game mode, so no separate download is needed.
The build
The mode is anchored in Season 3 (2013), widely regarded as LoL's competitive golden age. It brings back the original HUD, the old Runes and Masteries systems, the 2013 map layout, and vintage item sets. Sixty champions are available at launch — all 40 from the 2009 original roster plus early-era additions — with eight more (including Akali, Graves, Irelia, and LeBlanc) confirmed for future waves, per LoL Wiki.
It isn't a straight museum piece, though. Riot is pairing retro aesthetics with modern server infrastructure: better hit registration, stable connections, and up-to-date anti-cheat. Classic also gets its own progression track, a separate battle pass, and a dedicated IP currency — meaning your main account progress stays untouched.
Mixed signals from the community
Player reaction has been genuinely split. Veterans who crave slower, draft-heavy gameplay are enthusiastic. Critics, flagged by PC Gamer, point out that the mode blends mechanics from Seasons 1–4 rather than locking to a single patch, and that modern conveniences like trinkets and turret gates undercut the nostalgia. There's also a harder-to-solve problem: the meta knowledge of 2025 players will look very different applied to 2013 champion kits.
What's coming
Riot is leaning on a community-vote system for future patches — the same model that's kept Old School RuneScape alive for years. Before the July 29 public launch, a showmatch gives fans a first look at the live format. TechTimes reports that a North American LCS Classic showmatch between TSM and CLG is scheduled for July 24 at the LA Riot Arena, with tickets on sale from July 15. An EU LCS Legends equivalent follows on July 25.
League Classic is free to access for any existing LoL player — no extra purchase required.
