League of Legends 2 could finally be on the cards, and it's about damn time my favorite game gets the love it deserves

"Our tech and tools need some work," League of Legends executive producer Paul Bellezza recently admitted in a teaser for the monolithic MOBA's upcoming winter map. I remember nodding along fervently like one of those dashboard dog ornaments, because it's a well-known fact that League is basically held together by hopes and dreams at this point. There's more spaghetti in there than a pasta factory, though that's to be expected from a game that's well into its second decade of life. League of Legends 2 is one of the oldest 'Riot pls' wishlist items there is, and a Chinese leaker claims that it could finally be on the way.

Now 16 years old, League of Legends can now legally drive (depending on where you are in the world). While I've watched enough Sion Speedway LCS segments to know that would be a terrible idea in practice, it serves as a reminder that League is getting on a bit in gaming years. Unsurprisingly, it's faced its fair share of ridiculous bugs throughout its lifetime. Remember the time Neeko could turn into towers and one-shot everyone? How about launch Viego? League's client also has its fair share of foibles, and don't get me started on Vanguard (really, don't).

Suffice it to say, League needs some serious love from a technical standpoint, and it could get it as early as the second half of next year. That's according to a now-deleted report from 'Summoner Park,' who claims that, as translated into English by 'Igenico' on X, League 2 will retain its core gameplay, while undergoing "comprehensive technical and gameplay upgrades." I'm listening.

"Not only will it remove legacy code," Park continues, but "there's a possibility that core game content will be revamped." But LoL 2's overhaul wouldn't stop in-engine. Park further claims that "champion abilities are also expected to undergo large-scale optimization and balancing changes, whilst retaining champion identities."

This is, suffice it to say, a bit of a dreamland scenario, and I'm naturally cynical considering the sheer amount of work all of this would require, especially for a large-scale champion kit tweaking operation. League has over 170 champions at this point, and unless this is something Riot has been plugging away at in a secret dev bunker for the last few years, I can't see a finalized version of this materializing within the next 12 months. Shyvana's rework has already been postponed into 2026, and that was announced all the way back in January 2024. Unless… *puts tinfoil hat on* she'll release alongside the revamped cast.

At the very least, it's clear Riot is well aware of its current technical limitations, and I suspect we'll at least get some sort of tech update within the coming years. League is still very much functional in its current state, despite its myriad issues. This prompts the question as to whether Riot would even want to invest a huge amount of resources into an updated version of the game, considering how deep into its lifecycle it is.

PCGamesN has reached out to Riot to see if there's any substance to Park's report, and will update this article as soon as we hear back.