Riot Games has announced that League of Legends will end support for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 later this year. This change will impact many players who have not upgraded to Windows 10 yet. In this article, we’ll cover the details around Riot’s decision, when support will officially end, and what the new LoL system requirements will be for League once older Windows versions are no longer supported.
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Why RIOT Games is Ending Support for Old Systems?
According to Riot, “In order to continue maintaining and improving the stability and performance of League, we sometimes need to stop supporting legacy Operating Systems that don’t have very many players on them so we can focus our efforts elsewhere.”
To align with Microsoft’s supported products, Riot will be discontinuing support for League of Legends on Windows 7, 8, and 8.1.
Riot is also likely dropping support for older operating systems to ensure the stability of their anti-cheat system Vanguard when it comes to League of Legends. As Riot stated, “Given these issues along with Vanguard’s success in VALORANT, we determined bringing this software over to League was the best way to protect the player experience.”
By phasing out legacy OS versions that no longer receive security updates, Riot aims to better secure League against cheaters, scripters, and bot accounts. Focusing efforts on modern platforms will allow Riot to optimize League’s performance while implementing robust anti-cheat measures through LoL Vanguard. Dropping old OS support appears intended to strengthen the competitive integrity as LoL Vanguard is adopted.
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When should we expect it?
Beginning Wednesday, February 21 (patch 14.4), RIOT Games will be updating their minimum system requirements and will no longer be supporting Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 for all League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics games.
Once support ends on February 22, 2024, League of Legends will no longer open or run on machines using Windows 7, 8, or 8.1. The new minimum requirement will be Windows 10 or later. Riot has recommended players still using older Windows versions should upgrade to Windows 10 soon to avoid disruption when support is discontinued in February.
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LoL System Requirements
For PC
- CPU: Intel Core i3-530 or AMD A6-3650 (min), Intel Core i5-3300 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200 (rec)
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce 9600GT, AMD HD 6570, or Intel HD 4600 (min), Nvidia GeForce 560, AMD Radeon HD 6950, or Intel UHD 630 (rec)
- VRAM: 1GB (min), 2GB (rec)
- Storage: 16GB HDD or SSD
- OS: Windows 10 or 11 (Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 will no longer be supported)
- Architecture: x64
- RAM: 2GB (min), 4GB (rec)
- Resolution: 1024×768 (min), 1920×1080 (rec)
For Mac
- CPU: Intel Core i5-750 (min), Core i5-3300 (rec)
- GPU: AMD HD 6570 or Intel HD 4600 (min), AMD Radeon HD 6950 or Intel UHD 630 (rec)
- VRAM: 1GB (min), 2GB (rec)
- Storage: 12GB HDD or 16GB SSD
- OS: macOS 10.13.6 or 11 (macOS 12 and 13 not currently supported)
- Architecture: x64
- RAM: 2GB (min), 4GB (rec)
- Resolution: 1024×768 (min), 1920×1080 (rec)
Conclusion
As Riot Games prepares to implement their Vanguard anti-cheat system in League of Legends, they are discontinuing support for older operating systems including Windows 7, 8, and 8.1. By ending legacy OS support, Riot can focus on optimizing League for modern platforms and strengthening competitive integrity.
Players on older Windows versions should upgrade to Windows 10 or 11 soon to avoid disruption when support ends in February 2024. While dropping support for dated OSes may be inconvenient for some, it is a necessary step to ensure that League remains fair and enjoyable as new anti-cheat measures are adopted.
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