Every report · every source
Official announcements and wiki data work, with the evidence shown beside every report.
Two Riot artists rebuild Viego in Season 3's art style for the studio's Super Art Power Hour. He postdates this roster by years and Riot is not implying otherwise: it is a drawing exercise, not a signal about who gets added next.
A five-point Riot video on when to back and when to buy in Classic - the first gameplay guidance Riot has put out for the mode rather than about it.
Riot published "Welcome Back, Summoners" on launch day, calling League Classic "now live" and inviting players to relive a golden era. The site's own launch entry until now was the July 17 announcement of a future date; this is the mode actually opening.
A three-card patch roadmap from the official League account puts three champions on August 12, the first Council vote on August 26, more champions on September 9, a second Council vote on September 23, and Classic Pass Act II on October 7. Balance updates are listed for every patch. The roadmap gives counts and dates, not champion names.
Coverage lists Classic Draft as the main PvP queue alongside Co-op vs AI and custom games. Riot has not published a queue list, so the lineup is unconfirmed.
Coverage puts activation at 8:00am PT on July 29, with Korea, OCE and Japan ahead of Europe and North America. Riot's Classic page still says only "Coming Soon: July 29" with no time, so treat the hour as unconfirmed.
Multiple outlets name 26.15 as the release patch. Riot's patch notes hub still ends at 26.14 and has published nothing for 26.15, so this is not confirmed at source.
The July 26 capture records five field changes against the previous build: Ezreal's W ratio and ultimate falloff, Kassadin's and Tristana's ultimate ratios, and Master Yi's passive proc chance.
Riot's esports channel announced that GO4LOL community tournaments come back in August and will be played on League Classic. It is the first competitive structure announced for the mode.
Riot's official Classic page lists July 29 as the release date for the returning early-era experience.
The current audit publishes verified fields while retaining explicit pending markers wherever qualifying PBE or Riot evidence is still missing.
The old map, items, runes and mechanics return, but Riot lists matchmaking updates, server infrastructure, performance work, modern pings, spell buffering and optional WASD controls as staying in.
Riot says rune and mastery progression is much faster than the original grind, and that every player starts with access to default pages rather than buying in.
Playing Classic raises a Classic Level that unlocks runes, masteries, IP, BE and cosmetics. Level 10 opens Summoner's Journey, which starts at Salt and runs up to Legend - a tier Riot expects a single-digit percentage of players to reach.
Riot describes The Council as its version of community voting, guiding which champions are added next, which skins get made, and gameplay changes. It unlocks through Classic Levels, and voting power grows with playtime.
The launch design uses Season 3 as an anchor while drawing champions, items, runes, masteries, and mechanics from several early seasons.
Riot says the opening roster combines the original 40 champions with 20 selected releases from 2009 through 2013, with more planned later.