League of Legends Team Voice Chat Is Coming in Patch 26.20, Starting in NA and Oceania

League of Legends is finally expanding voice chat beyond premade parties. Starting with Patch 26.20, players in North America and Oceania will be able to speak with everyone matched onto their team, giving solo and duo players access to live team coordination through the game itself.

There is a catch. Riot Games is tying speaking access to Honor Level 3 or higher, while players below that threshold will still be able to listen. The change was detailed in Riot’s 8 September Dev Update, ending a 17-year stretch in which League’s built-in voice chat never extended to an entire matchmade team.

Honor Level Will Decide Who Can Speak

Team Voice is designed to let all five players coordinate directly during a match, from calling summoner spells and key abilities to organising fights without relying on text chat or pings. Riot is also adding better noise cancellation, faster connections and improved stability as it expands the existing party voice system.

Moderation is the reason Riot is starting with only two regions. Speaking privileges will be linked to Honor, and Riot says it will only bring Team Voice to servers where it is confident that moderation can keep up with usage. Korea, Latin America and Brazil are among the regions that may follow if the first rollout goes well. Europe will take longer because Riot needs more complex voice detection and moderation support there.

Patch 26.20 is scheduled for 7 October, according to Hotspawn. That gives Riot a defined first test across North America and Oceania before deciding how quickly Team Voice can spread elsewhere.

Voice skins are coming with the system too. They will modify how a player sounds while remaining understandable during busy fights. Riot senior vice president Andrei “Meddler” van Roon later clarified on Reddit that the first voice skins will use more general effects rather than champion voices.

Music Takes Over Season 3 Act 2 and ARAM: Mayhem

Season 3 Act 2 is putting music at the centre of League’s next content cycle, with Riot scheduling its first music reveal for 9 September. The next ARAM: Mayhem set will carry the same theme, with a musical act appearing at the start of a match and changing the rules in a way Riot compares with Arena’s Guests of Honor system.

it's been a while pic.twitter.com/9ihvJ5tIpI

— Riot Games Music (@riotgamesmusic) September 8, 2026

New Augments and in-game missions are also planned. Those missions will offer rewards outside the normal Mayhem progression track and push players towards different builds and playstyles rather than simply repeating the same approach every match.

League Classic and Ranked 5s Change in Patch 26.18

League Classic will add Poppy, Xin Zhao, Shyvana, Galio and Fiora in Patch 26.18, followed by Graves and three other Bilgewater champions in the next patch. Riot has also brightened the lighting and map textures to better match Classic’s intended look.

Progression is being sped up at the same time. Players will earn more IP and XP, receive two additional Rune Pages and get a second Win of the Day bonus, while many Rune prices are being reduced. Riot has also wrapped the first Classic Council vote and says the results will be posted soon.

Ranked 5s also begins another run in Patch 26.18. Riot is adding a strategic draft phase similar to Clash, allowing teams to see some information about their opponents before picks and bans. The weekend queue window will open earlier and close later, rewards from the first June to September run will be granted in Patch 26.18, and another reward opportunity will be available during the September to December run.

League Next Is Still Not Ready for a Full Reveal

Meddler also said Riot expects to share a small League Next update later in 2026, but the project is not yet at the point where the studio wants to give it a full reveal. The aim, he said, is to avoid setting expectations before Riot is ready to show more.

Applications for the League Partner Program are open as well. Riot said this is its final Dev Update before Worlds 2026, which begins on 15 October in Los Angeles. The World Championship final is scheduled for 14 November in Brooklyn, New York.