League of Legends 2 Rumors

We had one League of Legends, but what about second League of Legends? There has been another leak about that rumor we’ve been hearing for a few years now. The key points are:

• Major update expected – We are getting a big League of Legends 2 update with a new engine;
• Timeline shifts – First, it was 2025 will change leak forever. Now, I guess 2026 will have to do it;
• Long-awaited announcement – This rumor has been circulating for several years, building anticipation among the community.

The Latest Leak

This comes from a website in China and the leaker that allegedly had some insider information said in a post that Faker will need to prove himself next year again in League of Legends 2. That might come out in the second half of 2026. The update will:

• Keep the core gameplay intact;
• Undergo a full technical gameplay and visual upgrade;
• Optimize and balance abilities while retaining their essence;
• Improve the fluidity and fairness of the game.

We are unironically getting League of Legends 2 before GTA 6. This got posted on the League subreddit too but it got removed by the moderators quite quickly which is interesting. Although they are known for deleting almost everything.

What to Expect

The update promises to maintain the core gameplay experience while introducing significant improvements:

• Technical upgrades – Enhanced engine capabilities and performance;
• Visual improvements – Modern graphics and animations across all champions;
• Ability optimization – Balanced abilities that retain their essence while improving fluidity and fairness;
• Comprehensive overhaul – A major update rather than a complete departure from the current League of Legends experience.

Champion Visual Updates

Just like Riot already built Wild Rift from the ground up, maybe they will finally figure out how to port those models from there and use them as visual updates. Key points:

• Remaining champions – All the remaining 70 champions that still need an update;
• Previous attempts – They tried with Malphite that one time, showing the potential approach;
• Model porting – Leveraging existing Wild Rift assets for faster visual updates.

Wild Rift Models Integration

Wild Rift features modern, high-quality champion models that could serve as a foundation for updating the remaining champions in League of Legends. This approach would allow Riot to:

• Leverage existing assets from Wild Rift;
• Bring visual consistency across all champions;
• Reduce development time for visual updates;
• Maintain the recognizable art style while modernizing graphics.

Graphics and Animation Improvements

It would be nice to not have 2009 graphics and animations on a lot of those champions and to have a better client as well. The visual upgrade would address:

• Aging graphics – Many champions still use visuals from the game’s early days;
• Outdated animations – Modern animation techniques would improve gameplay feel;
• Client improvements – Better client performance and user experience;
• Modern standards – Bringing all champions up to current visual quality expectations.

Engine Upgrade Benefits

Getting rid of all the restrictions Riot is running into would be a significant improvement. The current situation includes:

• Old engine limitations – Struggling with legacy code and technical constraints;
• Development delays – It took them so many years to figure out how to bring the Snow Rift back;
• Content creation speed – A new engine will help them make more content faster and better;
• Future-proofing – Modern technology foundation for upcoming features and updates.

Current Technical Limitations

The current engine has been a source of frustration for both developers and players. The limitations include:

• Difficulty implementing certain features and updates;
• Delays and workarounds that complicate the development process;
• Restrictions on what can be added or modified;
• Legacy code that makes improvements challenging.

Faster Content Creation

A new engine would enable Riot to create content more efficiently and with higher quality. Benefits include:

• Efficient development – Faster creation of new content and features;
• Higher quality – Better tools and capabilities for content creation;
• Better maintenance – Easier updates and improvements to existing features;
• Reduced implementation time – Less time needed to implement changes and updates.

Release Timeline

We had a similar post last year, too, that confirmed they were working on an engine update. The situation includes:

• Internal demonstration – The update was shown internally last year;
• Delays – It got delayed, and probably the layoffs didn’t help speed it up either;
• Ongoing development – The work continues despite public delays.

Previous Engine Update Attempts

This isn’t the first time rumors about an engine update have surfaced. The history shows:

• Previous attempts – Internal demonstrations suggest Riot has been exploring engine upgrades for some time;
• Implementation delays – Various factors have delayed the actual implementation;
• Ongoing development – The work continues behind the scenes despite public delays.

Potential New Features

And if this actually happens, maybe that’s when they will officially introduce a Wild Rift movement on live servers as well. And if they do it, it won’t be a separate game, but an overhaul of the current game like:

• Overwatch 2 – Complete game overhaul;
• Counter Strike 2 – Engine upgrade approach;
• Fortnite – Keeps doing with every chapter.

Game Overhaul Approach

We will keep all the unlocked skins and champions, but hopefully everything will just work and look better. The approach includes:

• Progress preservation – All unlocked skins and champions will be retained;
• Improved functionality – Everything will work better with enhanced performance;
• Visual upgrades – Better graphics and animations across the board;
• Similar to other major updates – Overhaul the existing game rather than creating a completely separate title, following the approach of games like Overwatch 2 and Counter-Strike 2.

Map Visual Updates

The map update should maintain the recognizable art style while modernizing the visuals. Key aspects include:

• Art style preservation – Keep the iconic League of Legends aesthetic, not fan-made Unreal Engine style;
• Visual enhancements – Upscale textures and add more polygons and animations;
• Long overdue update – It’s been 10 years since we got the current map update, so it’s time for another one;
• Recent map additions – We’ve been getting new maps in arena and brawl, plus seasonal rift maps this year;
• Engine upgrade potential – A new engine would enable more dynamic and visually impressive map features.

Preserving Your Progress

One of the key aspects of this overhaul would be preserving all player progress, including:

• All unlocked skins and champions;
• Account progression and achievements;
• Collection items and rewards;
• Ranked history and statistics.

This ensures that players won’t lose their investments and can continue enjoying their collection in the upgraded version of the game.

Final Thoughts

So what do you think? Will we get the long-awaited overhaul next year? The possibilities are:

• Major overhaul scenario – New engine, new client, better graphics and models for all champions;
• Gradual update scenario – Continue with two visual updates a year, finishing all old champions by 2071.

The potential for a comprehensive League of Legends 2 update represents an exciting possibility for the future of the game. Whether it arrives in 2026 or later, the improvements would include:

• Graphics modernization – Enhanced visual quality across all champions and maps;
• Engine capabilities – Better performance and faster content creation;
• Overall game quality – A significant step forward for one of the world’s most popular MOBAs.