Starting in 2026, all Riot games on PC will launch through the Riot Client. 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 instead of immediately launching the game.
Why the Change?
If you've always launched your game directly, you might not know that the Riot Client now has a ton of features/information, like:
- Social tools to see who's playing what on your friend list
- Easy access to Riot's game lineup
- Patch notes
- Esports
- Timely, game-specific content, like animated login screens and other time-limited, for-funsies features
Being focused on a single game is awesome! But it also meant missing out on everything other games have to offer, including big moments like world tournaments and huge cinematic releases. By making the Riot Client a central launching point for all our games, we're hoping to give the opportunity to peek into those other worlds—even if you decide not to hop into them.
Will the Riot Client be replacing the clients for League/VALORANT/TFT/etc?
Nope! Each game-specific client will remain unchanged.
I don't really play X/Y/Z games—do I have to get the Riot Client?
Don't you see, TeemoSupremo93? The new client was inside of you all along!
Really, though—the Riot Client has already been a part of launching Riot games for the past several years, so you won't have to install anything new. We've also made sure that every game is just a click away from the Riot Client, even if you're dropped into the main page for a different game.
Does this mean TFT has its own client as well?
TFT still runs through the League of Legends client, and that won't change for now. However, if you launch TFT from its tab in the Riot Client, you'll go straight into the TFT section of the League client—no extra navigation needed. We're also adding a desktop shortcut option for TFT that will launch you straight to the TFT section of the Riot Client.
Is Vanguard included with the Riot Client?
Vanguard, Riot's anti-cheat software, is only added to your computer when you install one of our games that requires it—like VALORANT or League of Legends. As such, it is not part of the default Riot Client.