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League of Legends team voice chat looks like it’s finally on the way, with multiple PBE leaks pointing to full team-wide voice comms arriving as soon as Patch 16.5. After years of debate, Riot Games appears to be testing an opt-in system that would let you talk to your entire team, not just your premade party.

For a game where communication can decide a ranked climb or a tilt spiral, this is a pretty massive shift.

Team Voice Chat Spotted On PBE 16.5

The first signs of League of Legends team voice chat came from datamining on the Public Beta Environment for Patch 16.5. Content creator SkinSpotlights shared screenshots showing a new reporting category labelled “Voice Comms Abuse”, with the description referencing bullying, harassment, threats and hate speech in team voice.

That alone strongly suggests Riot isn’t just experimenting internally. You don’t build a dedicated abuse reporting category unless you expect the feature to go live.

Further PBE data shows a redesigned Voice panel that can switch between two tabs: PARTY and TEAM. This implies that League Voice, which currently only supports premade lobbies, will remain in some form but expand to include full team-wide communication.

How League Team Voice Chat Will Work

Based on the PBE findings, the system appears to be fully opt-in. Players will need to manually enable team voice chat through the settings under the Voice tab. That should reassure anyone who doesn’t want random teammates immediately piping up in solo queue.

Dataminers also uncovered references to separate Push-To-Talk keybinds for Party and Team chat. That means you could theoretically keep party comms always on while using PTT for the wider team, or vice versa.

There is also evidence that the existing League Voice interface will be replaced with an upgraded panel that supports both chat types. Early screenshots show a VOICE header and a component labelled “parties_comm_panel”, further reinforcing that this isn’t a placeholder or accident.

Voice Chat Already Exists In China

Interestingly, voice comms in League of Legends aren’t entirely new. The Chinese server has supported team voice chat since at least 2024.

According to a Reddit post by user u/lol_dango, the system there allows players to mute themselves, individually adjust teammate volumes, and see who is speaking even while muted. The voice interface reportedly sits where League Voice currently appears, and can be hidden using a headset icon.

If Riot brings that same structure globally, we already have a good idea of what to expect in terms of functionality and user control.

Community Reaction Is Split

The arrival of voice chat has always been one of the most divisive topics in the League of Legends community.

Some high-elo players and pros have publicly supported the move. French Flair jungler Isak “NattyNatt” Elgh wrote on X that he believes voice comms could significantly level up gameplay quality, especially in ranked environments where players may encounter each other repeatedly.

On the other side, concerns about toxicity are front and centre. Critics worry that team voice chat could introduce new avenues for harassment, including sexist or discriminatory abuse, similar to issues seen in Riot’s tactical shooter VALORANT.

The fact that Riot is already building in a Voice Comms Abuse report category suggests the developer is well aware of these risks.

When Could League Of Legends Team Voice Chat Release?

Right now, everything points to Patch 16.5 as the earliest possible release window. The feature has been spotted on the 16.5 PBE cycle, which typically means it’s being prepared for live deployment.

That said, major system features sometimes remain on the PBE for more than one patch cycle. Riot previously tested large gameplay additions, such as the experimental WASD control scheme, for extended periods before pushing them to live servers.

If you’re keen to try team voice chat early, jumping onto the PBE client is your best bet. Otherwise, the wait for global rollout may not be much longer.

If Patch 16.5 does ship with team-wide voice comms, it could mark one of the biggest systemic changes to League of Legends solo queue in years. Whether it improves coordination or just adds another layer of chaos will depend largely on how players use it.