Liputan6.com, Jakarta - League of Legends (LoL), one of the world's most popular Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games, experienced a widespread global service outage on January 4, 2026.
The incident left thousands of players unable to access the game, sparking outrage across the global community.
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The primary issue was identified as the expiration of Riot Games' SSL client certificate, a vital security component that ensures secure, encrypted connections.
This was not the first time Riot Games had experienced such an outage, as a similar incident happened back in January 2016.
The impact of the certificate issue was significant, with reports flooding platforms like Downdetector and ranked queues being temporarily disabled.
Riot Games quickly confirmed that they were aware of the issue causing failed login attempts and were working to resolve it.
However, the initial response on Riot Games' official status page, which indicated "No issues," drew criticism from frustrated players.
League of Legends Global Outage January 2026
On January 4, 2026, League of Legends experienced a widespread global service outage, leaving thousands of players unable to log in.
The primary cause of the outage was an expired Riot Games SSL client certificate, which triggered validation failures after the date change.
The incident resulted in over 7,000 issue reports flooding Downdetector, with approximately 81% of complaints related to game launch failures or client issues.
Players in various regions, including North America and the EUW, reported the game client getting stuck on loading screens, authentication failures, and the inability to open the Riot Client.
Ranked queues were temporarily disabled in response to the issue, and other games that use the Riot Client, such as Teamfight Tactics (TFT), were also affected.
Riot Games confirmed the issue and stated that a fix was underway, although its official status page initially indicated no issues.
A Riot employee subsequently provided ongoing updates on Reddit. Some players found a temporary workaround by changing their system date to January 3rd to allow the game to launch.
On January 5, 2026, Riot servers were reportedly back up and running, although some players were still experiencing the "<unknown player>" message indicating their client may not have been updated.
How to Resolve the Issue and Server Check
If players are experiencing connection or login issues in League of Legends, there are several ways to check Riot Games' server status.
One primary resource is the Official Riot Games Service Status Page, which provides up-to-date information for all Riot game titles, including League of Legends, Valorant, and Teamfight Tactics.
Furthermore, third-party sites like Downdetector and StatusGator also track outage reports from users and can provide an indication of broader issues.
Some of the ways to try and fix and League client down issue include starting with basic restarts (PC, Task Manager to end Riot processes), then trying the built-in Repair tool in the Riot Client settings, checking antivirus exceptions, and finally running as administrator or reinstalling if needed.
Social media, particularly official League of Legends or Riot Games accounts on platforms like X (formerly Twitter), often provide quick updates regarding service outages or server maintenance.
Following these accounts can help players get real-time information when issues arise.
League of Legends Patch Schedule 2026
Riot Games has released the official patch schedule for League of Legends throughout 2026, promising consistent updates for players.
A total of 24 updates are scheduled for release, with the first patch (26.01) on January 8, 2026, and the last patch (26.24) on December 9, 2026.
These updates will be released biweekly, mostly on Thursdays, following the pattern implemented in previous years.
This patch schedule is important for players to keep up with game meta changes, Champion adjustments, and new content introductions.
Players are advised to check Riot Games' official resources for the most up-to-date information regarding the update schedule.