League of Legends will no longer be available to some players starting on February 21, with Riot Games ending support for the title on some versions of Windows.
League of Legends has evolved over the years, adding new game modes, and improving the graphics of the game. Champions, items, and even the Summoner’s Rift have received visual enhancements, keeping the game fresh. These changes translate to a higher demand on the servers and players’ hardware alike.
On the final developer update of 2023, Riot Games confirmed that starting in February 2024, League of Legends will no longer run on hardware using Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1. Players using these versions of the operating system have until February 21 to update it. Otherwise, the game will stop working.
Can I still make LoL run on Windows 7 or 8?
Players are unable to run League of Legends on Windows 7, 8, or 8.1, as of February 2024.
Better graphics require better equipment. Riot Games stated it has decided to stop supporting older versions of the Windows operating system to preserve the stability of the servers at large.
In 2024, most PCs use either Windows 10 or Windows 11. Windows 10 became the standard in 2015 and at the time of its release, users running Windows 8.1 had the option to update to the newer version. Windows 11, despite being released in 2021, is still a relatively new version and hasn’t yet been as broadly adopted as the previous version. Though Windows 7 is fondly remembered as one of the better versions of the OS, it will also turn 15 years old in October 2024.
The League of Legends developers cited stability as the main reason for this decision. If all the players are on the same range of operating systems versions, there are less considerations when it comes to updating the game. This also comes as Riot Games laid off a massive number of workers.
Another big change coming to League of Legends is the implementation of Vanguard, Riot’s anti-cheating software. Vanguard, originally created for Valorant, is yet another software with steeper hardware requirements. Older computers using outdated versions of Windows may not be able to handle Vanguard and League of Legends together. Though League of Legends has historically been tailor-made to run on old hardware, Riot seems to be slashing its efforts in that regard.
What happens to my account if LoL no longer works?
Riot Games accounts will not be affected if a player can no longer run League of Legends on their computer.
Game accounts are not linked or limited to a specific piece of hardware. Players can continue to use their game accounts on a computer that can run League of Legends. Players using older versions of Windows won’t receive any kind of in-game penalty and can log into their account and play League of Legends if they happen to get a better PC.
