LoL Dev Update: What Riot Announced for Season 3 Beyond Classic

League Classic took every headline, but the July 14 dev update carried a full Season 3 roadmap underneath it. Riot laid out a new limited-time mode, a Hall of Legends date, the return of the Partner Program, and a teaser about 2027 dropped in almost as an afterthought. None of it made the headlines. All of it is worth knowing.

Season 3 Is a Celebration of League’s Past

Riot framed the season around one idea: Season 3 celebrates League’s history and its present at once. That thread ties Classic, the new Mayhem variant and the Hall of Legends together. They are not three unrelated launches sharing a patch.

ARAM: Mayhem Classic-ish

The most immediate addition is a themed twist on ARAM: Mayhem called Classic-ish, launching alongside League Classic as a limited-time mode with its own queue.

It runs on a Classic-inspired map with Classic items and Classic-themed augments, and Riot walked through it in the full dev update video. The name does the work here. Only the 60 Classic champions are playable, but they use their modern versions, not their old kits. So it is the Classic flavour wrapped around current-day champions. It sits next to the real Classic mode, for players who want the look without relearning pre-rework abilities.

Hall of Legends: Next Inductee Revealed August 17

Riot will announce the next Hall of Legends inductee on August 17, with the in-game event following shortly after. No name yet, but the date is locked. Given this year’s three-peat context, the speculation will run hot until then.

The Partner Program Reopens in September

Applications for the League Partner Program reopen in September. Riot is pointing creators at its social channels for the exact go-live date. If you make League content, that is the window to watch.

A Worlds Teaser for 2027

The update closed with two forward-looking notes. Riot will share more about Season 3 Act 2 before it starts. And at Worlds 2026, the studio plans a first look at its plans for 2027 and beyond.

That last line is the one to file away. Riot almost never teases multi-year direction this early, which is what makes it interesting.

The through-line is that Season 3 is Riot mining its own history. Classic is the centrepiece, Mayhem Classic-ish is the sampler, and the Hall of Legends reveal in August keeps the nostalgia running into the autumn. The 2027 tease at Worlds is the only part looking forward, and it is the part I would keep an eye on.

For the full breakdown of the mode itself, see our League Classic guide, and everything shipping in the patch alongside it is in our Patch 26.14 notes.