Fact check: confirmed, reported, rumored, denied

Sorting each claim by confidence level is the simplest way to make sense of this project.

How the labels work Confirmed = stated publicly by Riot developers; Reported = press citing internal sources; Unverified = community or second-hand claims; Denied = explicitly ruled out by Riot.

Confirmed

Confirmed by Riot

From Riot's own video, developer replies on social media, or season recaps.

A brand-new around-game client will be integrated into the in-game experience instead of being a separate app.
Summoner's Rift gets 'entirely new visuals' and 'a bit of new gameplay'; some changes also reach other maps and modes.
Runes and pre-game choices will change, and the new-player experience will be rebuilt.
The custom Hextech Engine is upgraded and takes in the client; Meddler also confirmed players 'of course' keep their skins.

Reported

Reported by the press

Mainly Bloomberg's 18 Dec 2025 report, citing anonymous internal sources.

The internal codename League Next and the 2027 target, described as the biggest update since the 2009 launch.
Most of the League team moved to the project and internal teams were reorganised; 2026 saw markedly fewer new champions and gameplay updates.
A broad refresh of champion models, environments and UI; a declining player base and VALORANT's higher revenue were cited as context.

Unverified

Unverified / doubtful

Community speculation, second-hand reposts, or claims that conflict with Riot's statements. Do not treat them as facts.

The exact date, whether the Rift layout changes, rune details, system requirements and account migration plans.
Controller support, console and cross-play versions, and claims of an 'open-world RPG built on Unreal 5'. These conflict with Riot's statements and come from low-credibility sources.
The scale of systemic changes such as those for the support role: developers only said there are promising changes, without details.

Denied

Explicitly denied by Riot

Questions Riot has answered directly with wording like 'no' and 'we will not'.

League of Legends 2 or a standalone sequel: executive producer Paul Bellezza said the answer 'has been, and remains, no'.
A switch to Unreal Engine: Meddler said League keeps investing in its custom engine tailored for MOBA play.
A reset of accounts, skins, ranks or progress: this is not a new game and Riot stresses that player collections carry over.