The 2026 season of League of Legends is well underway, and with it comes Riot Games’ full slate of scheduled updates set to shape the meta throughout the year.
From champion balance changes and item tuning to larger gameplay adjustments, each patch plays a major role in keeping Summoner’s Rift evolving for both pro players and solo queue grinders.
The developer has once again locked in its biweekly patch cycle for 2026, giving players a clear roadmap for when major updates will arrive. The current patch naming format, introduced with the game’s yearly seasonal structure, continues with labels like 26.01, 26.02, and beyond, making it easier to track every release across the competitive season. Here’s the complete League of Legends patch schedule for 2026, including every confirmed release date and links to patch notes as they go live.
What is the current League of Legends patch?
At the moment, players are enjoying League on Patch 25.11. Riot wants to balance out the game ahead of the big changes coming to the Rift next year with League 2.
League of Legends patch schedule for 2026
Here is a table showing the official dates and patch notes for the 2026 season in League of Legends.
| Patch | Release date | Patch notes |
|---|---|---|
| 26.01 | January 8, 2026 (Thursday) | 26.01 |
| 26.02 | January 22, 2026 (Thursday) | 26.02 |
| 26.03 | February 4, 2026 (Wednesday) | 26.03 |
| 26.04 | February 19, 2026 (Thursday) | 26.04 |
| 26.05 | March 4, 2026 (Wednesday) | 26.05 |
| 26.06 | March 18, 2026 (Wednesday) | 26.06 |
| 26.07 | April 1, 2026 (Wednesday) | 26.07 |
| 26.08 | April 15, 2026 (Wednesday) | 26.08 |
| 26.09 | April 29, 2026 (Wednesday) | 26.09 |
| 26.10 | May 13, 2026 (Wednesday) | 26.10 |
| 26.11 | May 28, 2026 (Thursday) | 26.11 |
| 26.12 | June 10, 2026 (Wednesday) | TBD |
| 26.13 | June 24, 2026 (Wednesday) | TBD |
| 26.14 | July 15, 2026 (Wednesday) | TBD |
| 26.15 | July 29, 2026 (Wednesday) | TBD |
| 26.16 | August 12, 2026 (Wednesday) | TBD |
| 26.17 | August 26, 2026 (Wednesday) | TBD |
| 26.18 | September 10, 2026 (Thursday) | TBD |
| 26.19 | September 23, 2026 (Wednesday) | TBD |
| 26.20 | October 7, 2026 (Wednesday) | TBD |
| 26.21 | October 21, 2026 (Wednesday) | TBD |
| 26.22 | November 4, 2026 (Wednesday) | TBD |
| 26.23 | November 18, 2026 (Wednesday) | TBD |
| 26.24 | December 9, 2026 (Wednesday) | TBD |
How often does Riot release League of Legends patches?
League patches are released every two weeks on Wednesdays or Thursdays. There are some instances where there’s a three-week break, but that’s very rare. Sometimes, however, patches fail to address issues, and the devs launch hotfixes to tweak them—usually a day or two after the original update. If these hotfixes go live, they mostly tune down or bring up overbuffed or overnerfed champions.
How to test upcoming League of Legends changes
Testing out forthcoming changes before they hit the live servers is a perfect way of preparing yourself for the official launch. This way, you can be three steps ahead of your opponents and excel in the new meta immediately after the update. To do that, you can set up a PBE account.
The PBE is a playtesting server where you can experience the upcoming tweaks firsthand before they are officially added to League. Luckily, setting up your own PBE account isn’t a big deal anymore.
