History of League of Legends in Timeline

League of Legends is a free-to-play multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game developed and published by Riot Games. Released in 2009 for Windows and macOS, it was inspired by Defense of the Ancients, a Warcraft III mod. The game is monetized through purchasable character customization. League of Legends is a popular game in the MOBA genre.

2007: Game Developers Conference Demonstration

In 2007, a demonstration of League of Legends built in the Warcraft III game engine was shown at the Game Developers Conference. Beck and Merill had little success with potential investors due to the game's free-to-play business model and lack of a single-player mode.

October 7, 2008: League of Legends Announcement

On October 7, 2008, League of Legends was announced for Microsoft Windows.

2008: Agreement with Tencent

In 2008, Riot reached an agreement with holding company Tencent to oversee the game's launch in China.

April 2009: Closed Beta Testing Begins

In April 2009, closed beta-testing for League of Legends began with 17 champions available.

October 2009: League of Legends Release

In October 2009, League of Legends was released as a free-to-play game for Windows and macOS. The game is monetized through purchasable character customization and was inspired by Defense of the Ancients, a custom map for Warcraft III.

October 27, 2009: Full Release in North America

On October 27, 2009, League of Legends was fully released in North America with double the intended amount of champions, totaling to 40.

2009: Critical Reception and Launch Issues

In 2009, the launch of League of Legends faced criticism for the grind required for non-paying players to unlock key gameplay elements. Many outlets said the game was underdeveloped, and features available during the beta were removed for the release.

2010: Game Developers Choice Awards

In 2010, League of Legends won four major awards at the first Game Developers Choice Awards: Best Online Technology, Game Design, New Online Game, and Visual Arts.

2011: Golden Joystick Award

In 2011, League of Legends won Best Free-to-Play Game at the Golden Joystick Awards.

2013: Mac Version Release

In 2013, a Mac version of League of Legends was made available, expanding the game's availability beyond Microsoft Windows at launch.

2013: Comparisons to DotA 2

In 2013, comparisons were made between League of Legends and Dota 2, with some noting that League of Legends' rate of champion unlock was less generous than Dota 2, where characters are unlocked by default.

September 2014: Reboot of Fictional Setting

In September 2014, Riot Games rebooted League of Legends' fictional setting, removing summoners from the game's lore to avoid "creative stagnation".

2014: Criticism of Plot and Setting Before Rework

Before 2014, players existed in-universe as political leaders, or "Summoners", commanding champions to fight on the Fields of Justice. Sociologist Matt Watson said the plot and setting were bereft of the political themes found in other role-playing games, and presented in reductive "good versus evil" terms.

2014: Pentakill Formation

In 2014, Riot Games ventured into music with the virtual heavy metal band Pentakill, consisting of six champions initially.

2014: Standardized Patch Cadence

In 2014, Riot standardized its patch cadence to once approximately every two or three weeks. These updates change the effectiveness of strategies within the game, known as the metagame; update content is determined by the developer using a combination of gameplay data and product goals.

2014: Ubisoft Analyst Report on Paying Customers

In 2014, an Ubisoft analyst estimated that 4% of League of Legends players were paying customers—significantly lower than the industry standard. The analyst suggested that revenue optimization was likely not a priority because of the game's large player base.

2014: Ultra Rapid Fire Mode Release

In 2014, the Ultra Rapid Fire (URF) game mode was available for two weeks as an April Fool's Day prank. In the mode, champion abilities have no resource cost, significantly reduced cooldown timers, increased movement speed, reduced healing, and faster attacks.

April 2015: Riot Discontinues Ultra Rapid Fire Mode

In April 2015, Riot disclosed that it had not brought back the Ultra Rapid Fire (URF) mode because its unbalanced design resulted in player "burnout". Riot also said the costs associated with maintaining and balancing URF were too high.

2015: Comparisons to Heroes of the Storm

In 2015, comparisons were made between League of Legends and Heroes of the Storm, with some saying that League of Legends was slower than Heroes of the Storm.

2016: SuperData Analysis of Monthly Revenues

A 2016 analysis by SuperData estimated League of Legends' monthly revenues at $150 million per month.

2016: Introduction of Hextech Chests

In 2016, Hextech Chests were introduced as a loot box system in League of Legends. These are purchasable virtual "chests" that provide random cosmetics, a practice that has been criticized as a form of gambling.

2016: Esports Viewership Outperforms Major Sports

In 2016, League of Legends's esports events outperformed the viewership and attendance of the National Basketball Association, the World Series, and the Stanley Cup.

2016: Music Team Composition

In 2016, the music team for League of Legends had four full-time composers and a team of producers creating audio for the game and its promotional materials.

2017: The Game Awards Esports Nomination

In 2017, League of Legends was nominated for Best Esports Game at The Game Awards.

2017: Grasp of the Undying Album Success

In 2017, Pentakill's second album, Grasp of the Undying, reached number one on the iTunes metal charts.

2017: Honor System Rework

In 2017, Riot reworked the "Honor system", allowing players to award teammates virtual medals after games for positive attributes, increasing their "Honor level" and rewarding them with free loot boxes.

2017: Franchised Systems

In 2017, the franchised system comprised 109 teams and 545 players.

2018: K/DA Debut

In 2018, K/DA, a virtual K-pop girl group, debuted with their single "Pop/Stars" at the League of Legends World Championship.

Loading Video...

2018: The Game Awards Esports Nomination and Sports Emmy Awards

In 2018, League of Legends was nominated for Best Esports Game at The Game Awards. At the 39th Sports Emmy Awards in 2018, League of Legends won Outstanding Live Graphic Design for the 2017 world championship; as part of the pre-competition proceedings, Riot used augmented reality technology to have a computer-generated dragon fly across the stage.

2018: Marvel Comics Collaboration

In 2018, Riot announced a collaboration with Marvel Comics and debuted League of Legends: Ashe—Warmother, followed by League of Legends: Lux that same year.

2018: Criticism of Female Character Design

In 2018, Strom criticized that the female characters in League of Legends still resembled those in "horny Clash of Clans clones".

June 2019: Teamfight Tactics Release

In June 2019, Teamfight Tactics, an auto battler game, was released and was made a permanent game mode the next month. The game is available for iOS and Android and has cross-platform play with the Windows and macOS clients.

2019: League of Legends World Championship Finals Viewership

For the 2019 League of Legends World Championship finals, Riot Games reported 44 peak million concurrent viewers.

2019: Peak Concurrent Players

In 2019, League of Legends peaked at eight million concurrent players. This level of popularity led to various tie-ins such as music, comic books, short stories, and the animated series Arcane. Its success also spawned several spin-off video games, including a mobile version, a digital collectible card game, and a turn-based role-playing game.

Loading Video...

2019: The Game Awards Esports Winner

In 2019, League of Legends won Best Esports Game and Riot won Best Esports Event for the 2019 League World Championships at The Game Awards.

2019: True Damage Debut

In 2019, Riot created the virtual hip hop group True Damage, who performed their debut song "Giants" at the League of Legends World Championship, featuring a collaboration with Louis Vuitton for in-game cosmetics.

Loading Video...

2019: Print Version of League of Legends: Lux

In 2019, a print version of League of Legends: Lux was released.

2019: 10th Anniversary Game Announcements

In 2019, for the 10th anniversary of League of Legends, Riot Games announced several games in production related to the League of Legends IP, including Teamfight Tactics, Legends of Runeterra and League of Legends: Wild Rift.

March 2020: Teamfight Tactics Mobile Release

In March 2020, Riot Games released a stand-alone version of Teamfight Tactics for mobile operating systems iOS and Android, featuring cross-platform play with Windows and macOS clients.

April 2020: Legends of Runeterra Launch

In April 2020, Legends of Runeterra, a free-to-play digital collectible card game featuring characters from League of Legends, launched for Microsoft Windows.

August 2020: K/DA "The Baddest" Release

In August 2020, Riot Games released "The Baddest", the pre-release single for K/DA's All Out EP.

Loading Video...

December 2020: MMORPG Announcement

In December 2020, Greg Street announced that a massively multiplayer online role-playing game based on the game is in development.

2020: League of Legends World Championship Finals Viewership

For the 2020 League of Legends World Championship finals, Riot Games reported 45 peak million concurrent viewers.

2020: The Game Awards Esports Winner

In 2020, League of Legends won Best Esports Game and Riot won Best Esports Event for the 2020 League World Championships at The Game Awards.

2020: Valorant Release

In 2020, Valorant was released. Vanguard was originally developed for Riot's tactical shooter Valorant (2020).

2020: Streaming Rights

In Fall 2020, Bilibili acquired the rights to stream international events such as the World Championships and the Mid-Season Invitational for a three-year deal reportedly worth US$113 million, while exclusive streaming rights for the domestic and other regional leagues are owned by Huya Live.

April 2021: Riot Games' Regional Leagues

As of April 2021, Riot Games operates 12 regional leagues internationally, four of which—China, Europe, Korea, and North America—have franchised systems.

November 2021: Arcane Premiere

In November 2021, the animated series Arcane premiered on Netflix internationally and through Tencent Video in China, receiving critical acclaim.

Loading Video...

2021: The Game Awards Esports Winner

In 2021, League of Legends won Best Esports Game at The Game Awards.

2021: Ruined King Release

In 2021, Ruined King: A League of Legends Story, a single-player, turn-based role-playing game, was released for multiple platforms under Riot Forge.

2021: Pentakill Addition

In 2021, Viego was introduced to the Pentakill group.

2022: Song of Nunu Announcement

In 2022, Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story, a third-person adventure game, was announced for a planned release.

May 2023: Implementation of Vanguard Anti-Cheat Software

Since May 2023, League of Legends uses Riot's custom always-online anti-cheat software, Vanguard, on Microsoft Windows devices. Vanguard requires access to the device's kernel, which some users saw as unnecessarily intrusive.

November 1, 2023: Release of Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story

On November 1, 2023, Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story was released on Windows and the Nintendo Switch.

2023: Heartsteel Formation

In 2023, Riot formed Heartsteel, a virtual boy band, comprising the champions Aphelios, Ezreal, Kayn, K'Sante, Sett, and Yone. Heartsteel's debut single "Paranoia" was released in October of that year.

2023: Gacha Game Mechanic in Teamfight Tactics

Since 2023, Riot introduced a gacha game mechanic in Teamfight Tactics.

November 2024: Announcement of Streamlined Player Rewards Causes Outrage

In November 2024, Riot announced they would streamline player rewards in an upcoming patch, describing the game's various progression tracks and currencies as "needlessly complex". The announcement caused widespread outrage.

November 2024: Arcane Season 2 Premiere

In November 2024, the second season of Arcane premiered to similar acclaim.

Loading Video...

2024: Revenue Generation by "Whales"

At the 2024 Summer Game Fest, game director Pu Liu said that revenue is primarily generated by a "single-digit percentage" of players, colloquially known as whales.

2024: Addition of Luxury Skin Tier

In 2024, Riot Games added an additional skin tier to League of Legends, describing them as a luxury good. These skins cannot be purchased outright: instead, players buy attempts to win the skin via a slot machine.

January 2025: Partial Reversion of Streamlined Player Rewards

In mid-January 2025, game director Andrei van Room said they had "screwed up", explaining that a designer forgot to include the "first win of the day" experience bonus in their calculations, causing unintended consequences. The developer partially reverted some of the changes, including halving the cost of purchasing a champion, and the return of "hextech chests".

December 2025: Plans for Large-Scale Update "League Next"

In December 2025, Bloomberg News reported that Riot were planning a large-scale update to the game, internally titled "League Next". The League of Legends team responded with a video stating their intention to replace the game's client, improve onboarding for new users, and overhaul visuals, with an emphasis on making the game more beginner-friendly.

2025: Champion Count and Visual Overhauls

As of 2025, the game has 172 champions, and Riot Games periodically overhauls the visuals and gameplay of the oldest in the roster.

2025: The Game Awards Esports Nomination

In 2025, League of Legends was nominated for Best Esports Game at The Game Awards.

2025: Home Media Releases for Arcane Season 2

In 2025, collector's edition, 4k UHD, and 4k Blu-ray variants for season 2 of Arcane came out.

Loading Video...

2025: Controversy Over Hall of Fame Skin and Layoffs

In 2025, one day after revealing a $430 "Hall of Fame" skin to honor the career of professional gamer Faker, Riot announced layoffs at the company, impacting Ben Rosado—the cosmetic's designer—and eliciting further negative responses from players.