Starting in 2026, Riot games on PC will go through Riot Client on every launch. If you have desktop icons/shortcuts for your preferred game, they'll still work, but they'll bring you to the tab for your game in the Riot Client first instead of immediately launching the game.
Why am I launching through Riot Client now?
Starting in 2026, Riot Client will always be shown when you launch a game on PC, even if you are logged in and your game is up to date.
If you launch a Riot game from a desktop shortcut, you'll now open that game's page in Riot Client first. From there, click Play to launch your game.
Your desktop shortcuts should continue to work. Your Riot account, purchases, settings, friends list, and game progress aren't changing as part of this update.
Why did Riot make this change?
As Riot has grown from one PC game to several, we've also built many of the same supporting features in multiple places: news, patch notes, events, login experiences, and other shared systems.
Riot Client gives us a single platform for those experiences instead of rebuilding them for every game. That lets game teams spend more time building their games while giving us one place to improve shared features over time.
It also supports where Riot's PC games are headed.
As Teamfight Tactics moves to its own client, and the new League of Legends client rolls out in 2027, our aim is to keep those experiences more streamlined.
In turn, Riot Client gives players who want more updates, patch notes, esports, and news about Riot games a single place to find it.
What can I do in Riot Client?
Today, Riot Client includes:
- Friends and social features across Riot games
- Patch notes and game updates
- Easy access to Riot's PC games
- Game-specific news and announcements
Over time, we'll continue improving Riot Client with new shared features and experiences.
Players have also told us they miss things like League's animated login screens. Riot Client gives us a better place to experiment with those kinds of experiences across Riot games while keeping individual game clients focused on gameplay.
Does this add an extra step?
Yes.
Launching from your desktop now opens Riot Client, every time before you enter your game.
Previously, Riot Client only appeared when you needed to log in or patch. Otherwise, it still launched in the background but took you directly into game.
We know some players would prefer to launch directly into game. Our goal is to make Riot Client a useful place to start your session while keeping the path into game as fast and reliable as possible.
When you launch from your desktop shortcut, Riot Client opens directly to the game you selected, so you're one click away from playing. You can also launch any installed Riot game directly from the persistent Play panel within Riot Client.
Does this change Vanguard?
No.
This update doesn't change Vanguard requirements.
Games that require Vanguard will continue to require Vanguard. Games that don't require Vanguard still won't.
We recently updated Vanguard to add Vanguard Pre-Check, an optional feature that gives you more control over when Vanguard runs on your system.
Instead of starting automatically when Windows starts, Pre-Check enables Vanguard to launch when starting a Riot game, then run on-demand before shutting down after gameplay ends.
Does this change my Riot account?
No.
You'll continue using the same Riot account. Your purchases, progress, settings, friends list, and game history all remain the same.
Can I still use my desktop shortcuts?
Yes.
Existing desktop shortcuts should continue to work. They'll now open the appropriate game page inside Riot Client before launching your game.
What about Teamfight Tactics?
Teamfight Tactics is moving toward its own standalone client.
Until that transition is complete, launching TFT from Riot Client will continue to take you directly to the Teamfight Tactics section of the League client. As TFT's standalone client rolls out, Riot Client will launch you directly into the new TFT experience.
Does this have anything to do with the new League client?
Yes.
As Riot updates the League client and TFT becomes its own standalone game, Riot Client will serve as the shared platform for launching and connecting Riot games on PC.
That allows individual game clients to focus more on gameplay while Riot Client handles shared experiences across the Riot ecosystem
Will Riot Client keep changing?
Yes.
We're continuing to invest in Riot Client as the home for Riot games on PC.
Some improvements are focused on convenience, like social features and account management. Others are about creating better ways to surface updates, esports, patch notes, and game moments that players might otherwise miss.
We also want Riot Client to become a better place for the kinds of experiences players have asked us to bring back over the years, including richer login and launch moments.
Our goal is simple: Riot Client should earn its place by being useful, fast, and reliable.
Why am I seeing this now?
We're rolling this out to players over time.
If your games now launch through Riot Client, you're part of the latest rollout group. We'll continue monitoring launch performance, reliability, and player feedback as we complete the rollout across all Riot PC games.
I'm having trouble launching my game
If your game doesn't launch correctly after opening Riot Client:
- Restart Riot Client.
- Make sure Riot Client is fully updated.
- Restart your PC.
- Try launching again from Riot Client.
If these standard steps don't help, check the Riot Service Status page for known issues. You can also search this support site for your specific error code to find advanced troubleshooting.
If this doesn't work and the issue continues, contact Player Support. Launch failures, blank screens, or repeated launch attempts aren't expected behavior, and we'd like to investigate them if they occur.
