Riot Games Reveals League of Legends: New Dawn Overhaul at Worlds Finals, Launching 2027

Riot Games unveiled League of Legends: New Dawn at the 2026 League of Legends World Championship Finals, a large-scale update scheduled for 2027 that covers the game's client, Summoner's Rift, visuals and gameplay. IGN reported the announcement and the debut trailer shown at the Finals.

What the New Dawn Trailer Showed

Riot described New Dawn as an "all-encompassing" update touching almost every part of League. The trailer opened with a redesigned champion selection screen that resembles the interface in Wild Rift, League's mobile game, and hinted at a new or reworked rune system with a larger effect on gameplay. It also showed updated minions, a new look for Summoner's Rift, redesigned dragons and Baron Nashor, and what appeared to be new visual effects for many champion abilities.

The footage further suggested gameplay changes to map terrain that open new strategic considerations beyond junglers. "This is the start of a new era for League, a new journey," Paul Bellezza, League's executive producer, said in New Dawn's first official trailer. Riot is holding back the full extent of the gameplay changes, with a complete reveal expected in January 2027.

The announcement follows League Classic, a 2026 mode that let players revisit older versions of Summoner's Rift and champions. Riot said a few weeks after its release that the mode would end its current run in January 2027, though it could return in a modified format.

Riot's Earlier 2027 Overhaul Plan

Riot had already announced "League Next," a major overhaul of League of Legends with a planned 2027 launch covering a new client, visuals, game modes and champion updates, aimed at declining player numbers, according to akta.pro company records. The same records list more than 100 million combined monthly active players across Riot's titles, including League of Legends, VALORANT and Wild Rift.

Riot's Run-Up to the Finals

In November 2026, Riot Games and Netflix released a 10-video collection of music videos from K/DA, True Damage and HEARTSTEEL, the first music video deal with a streaming service, Hypebeast reported. In October 2026, Riot co-founder Marc Merrill said the League of Legends MMO will succeed despite MMO challenges, citing the game's 20-year Runeterra world and a global fanbase, according to GamesRadar. In September 2026, Riot delayed team voice chat in League of Legends 26.20 to meet its quality bar, Engadget reported, without giving a revised release date.

January 2027 Reveal and Classic's End

Riot's full presentation of New Dawn is scheduled for some time in January 2027, and League Classic ends its current run the same month.