League of Legends has officially launched Season 1 of 2026, and it is a bold opening act. Titled For Demacia, the new season arrives with sweeping gameplay changes, a strong narrative focus on one of Runeterra’s most iconic regions, and a refreshed competitive roadmap for Riot Games esports heading into the year.
The season went live on January 8 alongside Patch 26.01, kicking things off with a cinematic release called Salvation, featuring an original track with Forts. From faster matches and updated role systems to new skins, esports formats, and a clear long-term vision, Season 1 sets the tone for where League of Legends is heading next.
A New Season Rooted In Demacia
Season 1 places Demacia front and centre, a military kingdom defined by unity, justice, and discipline. That influence now stretches across the entire game. Summoner’s Rift has received a visual overhaul inspired by Demacian architecture, including petricite towers and gold-winged accents that reinforce the region’s identity without disrupting gameplay clarity.
Image Credit: Riot Games
Beyond visuals, Riot is expanding the season’s story through motion comics released across the year, offering players deeper insight into Demacia’s past, present, and future beyond what was shown in the opening cinematic.
Gameplay Changes Aim To Speed Things Up
Patch 26.01 introduces one of the most significant sets of gameplay updates League has seen in recent years. Riot’s goals are clear, make more strategies viable, improve role agency, reduce objective fatigue, and get players into the action faster.
Across Ranked, Normals, and Swiftplay, Champion Select now moves quicker, minion waves arrive earlier, and jungle monsters spawn sooner. The overall pace of matches has been tightened to reduce downtime while keeping strategic depth intact.
New map features have also arrived, including Faelights and Crystalline Overgrowth, adding fresh terrain interactions and tactical considerations to Summoner’s Rift.
Role Quests Add New Strategic Rewards
One of the standout additions this season is the update to role quests. Each role now has unique objectives that progress through specific in-game conditions. Completing these quests grants powerful role-specific rewards.
Mid laners, for example, can earn free tier-three boots and faster recall timings, while bot laners may unlock increased gold generation and access to a seventh item slot. These changes are designed to make each role feel more distinct, impactful, and rewarding throughout the match.
ARAM And Swiftplay Get Continued Support
Following strong player feedback, ARAM: Mayhem will remain available for longer than originally planned. A larger update to the mode is scheduled to arrive in Patch 26.03 later in the season.
Swiftplay and Ranked also receive dedicated tuning updates, with Riot continuing to refine how these modes feel and flow. Full breakdowns are available in the A Swifter Swiftplay and Ranked 2026 developer blogs.
Demacia Rising And The Shyvana Update
Launching alongside the season is a new meta-game called Demacia Rising. This progression system allows players to experience the rise of Demacia from a single settlement into a powerful kingdom, with the meta-game evolving over time through regular updates.
Image Credit: Riot Games
Later in Act 2, one of the most anticipated champion updates in recent memory finally arrives. Shyvana is receiving a full visual overhaul, with brand-new designs for both her human and dragon forms. While her abilities remain largely familiar, Riot has confirmed several minor kit changes. Full details will be revealed closer to her release.
Image Credit: Riot Games
Skins Rolling Out Across The Season
Season 1 brings a packed skin schedule, mixing Demacian themes with fan-favourite universes and new ideas.
Starting in Patch 26.02, Briar and Samira receive Battle Academia skins, while Galio and Ornn step into mecha anime-inspired designs. Lunar Revel celebrations see the return of the Firecracker skin line, alongside a new Petals of Spring theme created in collaboration with Wild Rift.
Galio | Image Credit: Riot Games
April Fools’ skins are also coming later this season as standalone releases, rather than a single themed set. Act 2 introduces a darker Demacia-inspired skin line, and a brand-new thematic will debut during the First Stand competitive window.
On the prestige side, Prestige Veiled Lady Morgana launches at season start, with Prestige skins for Sona and Mordekaiser arriving later. Revenant Reign Viego joins the Exalted tier via The Sanctum, while Ranked players can earn Victorious Braum simply by playing during Season 1, regardless of rank.
Player Behaviour Improvements On The Way
Riot is continuing its push to improve match quality with several player behaviour changes rolling out later this season. A new lobby hostage intervention system will automatically terminate Champion Select lobbies where a bad actor is detected threatening to ruin the game. This system will launch gradually across regions to ensure accuracy.
The ability to ban an ally’s hovered champion during Champion Select is being removed, and autofill status will now persist through dodging, reducing frustration and repeat queue manipulation.
Esports Format Changes For 2026
League of Legends Esports is also entering 2026 with major structural updates. The first global event of the year, First Stand, will run from March 16 to 22 in São Paulo, hosted at the Riot Games Arena.
With the LCS and CBLOL returning as independent leagues, First Stand now features eight teams, two from the LCK, two from the LPL, and one each from the LEC, LCS, CBLOL, and LCP. Every match will be a best-of-five, giving teams more room to adapt and showcase depth.
The Mid-Season Invitational heads to Daejeon, with venue details to be announced, while Worlds 2026 returns to North America, featuring stops in Texas and New York.
At the competitive level, Riot is introducing First Selection, a new draft system that decouples side choice from pick order. Teams can now choose between selecting a side or deciding whether they pick first or second, adding another strategic layer to professional play.
Hall of Legends will also return later than usual this year, with the third inductee set to be revealed ahead of Worlds 2026.
Looking Beyond 2026
While Season 1 lays the foundation for the year, Riot is already planning further ahead. Work has begun on a major League of Legends overhaul targeted beyond 2026 and into 2027.
Planned changes include a fully integrated new game client, a revamped Summoner’s Rift with new visuals and gameplay elements, updates to runes and pre-game choices, and a complete overhaul of the new player experience. Riot plans to share more details on these large-scale updates between MSI and Worlds later this year.
A Confident Start To The Year
Season 1: For Demacia feels like a statement of intent. Faster games, clearer roles, stronger seasonal identity, and a more flexible esports structure all point toward a League of Legends that is evolving without losing what makes it special.
With Demacia setting the stage and more updates on the horizon, 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most ambitious years yet for Riot’s flagship title.