League of Legends Introduces Season 1: For Demacia

Gameplay Updates

• Updates to various gameplay systems will be implemented on January 8 with Patch 26.01, with the overarching goals of making more strategies, like splitting and sieging, viable, balancing role agency, reducing objective fatigue, getting players into the action faster, and improving class satisfaction.

• Among the changes to the game is the update to role quests. These quests, which can be progressed through specific conditions, differ depending on role. Upon completion, players will receive unique in-game rewards based on their role, such as free tier three boots and a faster recall for mid laners, and increased gold accumulation and a seventh item slot for bot laners.

• Across Ranked, Norms, and Swiftplay, the overall pace of the game will be adjusted, with increased speeds within Champ Select before the game begins and earlier first minion wave and jungle monster spawn times.

• New map features will be added, including Faelights and Crystalline Overgrowth.

• Full details about these mechanics and more gameplay updates can be found in the 2026 Season One Gameplay Preview developer blog.

• Updates to Swiftplay and Ranked will also go live, the details of which can be found in the respective A Swifter Swiftplay and Ranked 2026 developer blogs.

• In response to positive feedback from players, ARAM: Mayhem will be available for a while longer, with a larger update to the game mode set to arrive in Patch 26.03 later this season.

Additional Seasonal Content

• Season 1 centers on Demacia, a military kingdom in the world of Runeterra, which holds fast to the ideals of unity, justice, and righteousness.

• The influence of Demacia extends to Summoner’s Rift, with the map featuring updated visuals including petricite towers and gold-winged accents.

• The highly anticipated update to Shyvana will release in Act 2 of this season. The update brings all-new visuals for both Shyvana’s base human form and her dragon form. While her abilities remain largely unchanged since the update, her kit features some minor adjustments. Shyvana’s full kit will be revealed at her release in Act 2. Stay tuned for more details.

• A brand-new meta-game will be released alongside the start of the season: Demacia Rising. In Demacia Rising, players will experience the rise of the kingdom of Demacia, as it transforms from a humble settlement to a beautiful, shining nation. The meta-game will evolve throughout the season, with updates released at regular intervals.

• Players can look forward to a handful of motion comics that will be published throughout the season, shedding light on the season’s narrative beyond what was shown in the season start cinematic.

Player Behavior 

• Later this season, a handful of improvements will be implemented as a part of the development team’s continued efforts to improve game quality, including lobby hostage intervention. Lobby hostage intervention is a new system designed to terminate lobbies with suspected disruptive players.
  This feature will be rolled out slowly across regions to ensure its accuracy remains high.

• Additionally, the ability to ban an ally’s hovered champion during Champ Select is being removed, and the autofill status will now persist through dodging.

Skins

• A variety of new skins will be released this season, both within and outside of the Demacian theme.

  • Starting in Patch 26.02, Briar and Samira will receive Battle Academia skins, and Galio and Ornn will receive mecha anime-inspired skins.

  • In celebration of Lunar Revel this year, the Firecracker skinline will make its return alongside the debut of a new thematic, Petals of Spring, made in collaboration with Wild Rift.

  • New April Fools’ skins are set to release later this season, being standalone skins rather than fitting under a single theme.

  • A new set of skins will release during Act 2, exhibiting a darker side of Demacia.

  • A brand-new skin theme will make its debut during the First Stand timeframe.

• Prestige Veiled Lady Morgana will release at the start of the season, followed by Prestige skins for Sona and Mordekaiser later in the season.

• Revenant Reign Viego, a new Exalted skin, will be available through The Sanctum this season.

• A Victorious skin is available this season for Braum, which players at any rank can earn by playing Ranked during Season 1.

Esports

• LoL Esports will release various format changes. These initiatives aim to continue celebrating the global community and propel LoL Esports forward.

  • The first global event of the year, First Stand, is scheduled for March 16 to 22 in São Paulo, Brazil, at the Riot Games Arena. This competition will feature eight teams, including two from the LCK, two from the LPL, and one each from the LEC, LCS, CBLOL, and LCP, as the LCS and CBLOL return as independent leagues. Teams will compete for early-season dominance and regional pride. Every match will be a best-of-five set, giving teams more opportunities to showcase their skills, adaptability, and creativity under pressure.

  • The Mid-Season Invitational will be hosted in Daejeon, South Korea. More details about the venue will be released soon.

  • Worlds 2026 will return to North America with stops in Texas and New York. More information will be shared at a later date.

• The team is continually refining how League of Legends is played at the highest level. Side selection and draft order will be separated with a new system called First Selection. This allows teams to choose their side or the order in which they pick their champions during the draft phase.
  For more details, please refer to the newly released blog.

• Hall of Legends will return later this year, but players can still expect its comeback ahead of Worlds 2026. More details, including the reveal of the third inductee, will be shared in the coming months.

Long-term Vision

• The development team is dedicated to continuously enhancing League of Legends, which includes introducing new game modes and champion updates. They also prioritize game balancing every two weeks and keep players informed through regular Dev Updates.

• The team is working on a major bundle of changes to League of Legends, scheduled for release after 2026. This initiative aims to enhance the player experience globally and propel League into the future:

  • A brand-new game client that is fully integrated with the in-game experience

  • Revamped Summoner’s Rift map with entirely new visuals and some new gameplay elements

  • Changes to runes and other pre-game choices

  • An overhaul to the new player experience

• The team will share more about these larger-scale changes between MSI and Worlds this year.