Champions Released in 2026

So far in 2026, Riot released 1 new champion: Locke. That ranks 2026 18th of 18 release years by volume, down from 3 in 2025. The average across every year is 9.6, so 2026 sits below the norm — typical of the slower, larger-kit release pace Riot settled into after the first four years.

Locke is a male Human champion from Demacia, listed for Mid, with a melee kit that runs on Mana.

No species, region or resource type made its debut in 2026 — every champion released that year extended a category that already existed.

As a first guess, Locke ranks 126th of 173 on the strategy page, leaving 6.7 candidates on average — a weak opener, because its attributes are rare. A 2026 guess lights the year cell yellow for anything from 2024 to 2026 — 7 champions, 4% of the roster. Nothing is newer, so a red year here always points down, toward the 166 champions released before 2024. Play a round to try it.