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League of Legends

Season 2027

Starts January 2027
Where it stands

Riot hasn't shown the 2027 season changes yet. Patch 26.24 on December 9 is the last patch on its 2026 schedule, and the new season opens with the first patch of 2027 in January. Last year the season changes reached the PBE on December 1, five weeks before they went live.

Season startsJanuary2027 schedule not out yet
Last 2026 patchDecember 9Patch 26.24
Changes on PBE~Dec 1Last year: December 1
Next up2 daysWorlds 2026 starts in Los Angeles

Key Dates

  1. October 15, 2026Worlds 2026 starts in Los Angeles
  2. October 21, 2026Patch 26.21
  3. November 4, 2026Patch 26.22
  4. November 14, 2026Worlds final in Brooklyn, New York
  5. November 18, 2026Patch 26.23. The PBE moves on to 26.24 once it ships.
  6. December 9, 2026Patch 26.24. The last patch on Riot's 2026 schedule.
  7. January 7, 2027Ranked 5s Experiment 2 closes at 23:59 server time
  8. January 2027The first patch of 2027 and the start of the new ranked year. Riot's 2027 patch schedule isn't out yet.

Patch dates from Riot's patch schedule. Ranked dates sit on our ranked season tracker too, with a countdown to the end of the season.

How Last Year's Season Start Went

Riot's notes for the last two patches of 2025 never used the word preseason. The year ended on ordinary balance patches while the new season sat on the PBE, and everything went live together in January.

  1. December 1, 2025The 2026 Season One gameplay changes hit the PBE, with a dev blog the same day.
  2. December 2, 2025Patch 25.24 notes call it "the last patch of the year" and say "the real shakeup comes in January with the new season start."
  3. December 16, 2025A final mid-patch balance update closes out the year.
  4. January 7, 2026The last 2025 ranked season ends at 23:59 server time.
  5. January 8, 2026Patch 26.1 goes live and Season 1 ranked opens at noon local server time.

That January patch moved the game toward turret pushing, added role quests and new items for each class, and changed ranked to cut down on autofill (Patch 26.1 notes).

What Riot Has Confirmed for 2027

A major update lands in 2027

Riot's executive producer said there's no League of Legends 2. What's coming instead is a large update to the game you already have, aimed at 2027 and known as League Next.

Riot, December 2025

What it covers

A new client built into the game itself, a visual overhaul of Summoner's Rift with gameplay changes tied to it, changes to runes and other pre-game systems, and a better start for new players.

Andrei "Meddler" van Roon, head of League studio

Same engine

League stays on the custom engine it already uses, and the client moves into that engine. TFT is the one going to Unreal.

Andrei "Meddler" van Roon on X

Worlds brings a small update

Riot will show something about League Next at Worlds 2026, and van Roon called it "a small update" rather than a full reveal.

Andrei "Meddler" van Roon on Reddit

Third-party apps lose memory access by April 2027

Approved tools that read game memory have until April 2027 to switch to Riot's official APIs. Unknown apps were cut off on October 6, 2026.

Riot Support, September 29, 2026

The full League Next story, rumors included, is on our League of Legends 2 and League Next page.

What We're Watching For on the PBE

Last year the season changes reached the PBE on December 1, 2025. These are the areas we'll cover first when this year's arrive.

  • Summoner's Rift objectives and turrets, which last year's season start reworked
  • Items, since 2026 opened with new items for each class
  • Runes and the pre-game screens, which Riot named as part of League Next
  • Role quests and anything else that shifts power between roles
  • Ranked rules for the new year, including the January reset
  • Any champion rework or new champion queued for January

Every individual change also lands on our PBE changes page the day it shows up.

What Happens to Your Rank

Your rank carries through the seasons inside a year and resets when the new year starts. Riot says most players start about a full tier below where they finished, and nobody starts a year higher than Emerald I (Riot Support).

Questions

When does Season 2027 start?

With the first patch of 2027 in January. Riot hasn't published its 2027 patch schedule yet. Last year's season opened on January 8.

Is there a preseason patch this year?

Not as a separate patch. Last year the season changes went to the PBE on December 1 and went live in January, while the December patch carried ordinary balance changes.

When will the 2027 changes be on the PBE?

Riot hasn't given a date. Last year it was December 1, the day before the year's final patch notes went up.

When does ranked reset?

With the new ranked year in January. Riot says most players start about a full tier below their final rank, and nobody starts higher than Emerald I.

Is League Next part of Season 2027?

Riot has tied League Next to 2027 without naming a month, so nothing links it to the January season start yet.

Sources: September 8 dev update, End of Season 2025 ranked rewards, Game memory access, Patch 25.24 notes, Patch 26.1 notes, Ranked 5s, 2026 Season One gameplay preview, Patch schedule, Ranked years and seasons.