Stuck on the loading screen: League opens but never gets into the game
In gameLoadingRiot's name for this error
Stuck on Infinite Loading ScreenWhat it means
The game window opens, then the loading screen never ends. Riot says something on your PC is keeping the game from running properly.
What to try first
Restart the whole PC before anything else, then load in again.
Is it you or Riot? If lots of players are hitting this at once, it's probably the servers. Check League server status before you start reinstalling things.
What counts as this problem
You get the game open and it hangs there. Riot groups a few descriptions under one article: a loading screen that won't finish, one that seems to run forever, and a game that launches fine yet won't let you past that screen. There's no error code attached (Riot files it by symptom).
The article sits in Riot's general performance section, shared across its games, and was last updated on September 21, 2026. Its cause is broad: something on your machine is stopping the game from running the way it should, and the four fixes work outward from your PC to your network.
If champion select ends and the client drops you on a reconnect screen instead of a loading screen, that's a different page (with its own fixes). A box that appears once you're already playing is Attempting to Reconnect.
Riot's fix, in Riot's order
1. Restart your PC
Use Restart from the power menu. Signing out of Windows won't cut it. Riot's reasoning is that a reboot ends leftover temporary processes and frees memory, so the game gets a fresh start.
2. Do a clean boot
Background programs can compete with League for your PC, and a clean boot starts Windows with only its own services so you can rule them out. Press Win+R, run msconfig, open the Services tab, tick Hide all Microsoft services, then click Disable all. Tick vgc back on (that's Vanguard's service, and League won't run without it), then apply and restart. Riot's clean boot guide has the full walkthrough.
3. Set up your firewall
Riot says a firewall can stop the Riot Client from talking to its servers. Give the Riot Client and the game exceptions in Windows Defender Firewall. Do the same in any third-party firewall you've added. The exact files are in Riot's firewall guide.
4. Check your connection
Riot keeps this for last. Its PC connection guide goes through the network side one step at a time: a cable in place of Wi-Fi, a router restart, a public DNS server and switching off any VPN.
Other wordings of the same error
LoL stuck on loading screenLeague stuck on loading screenLeague of Legends not loading into gameLeague of Legends crashes on loading screenInfinite loading screen League
Related errors
- Game won't launch after champ select
- Stuck at reconnect
- Game crashed, quick repair
- Attempting to Reconnect
Source: Riot Games Player Support, Stuck on Infinite Loading Screen, updated September 21, 2026. Riot's steps are paraphrased here, not copied; checked September 29, 2026.