League of Legends has been one of the most popular games in the world ever since its release in 2009. With tournaments that draw millions of viewers each year, it also dominates the esports scene. Yet every time a new patch lands wrong, people start saying that League of Legends is dying. So, is League of Legends dying or is it still popular?
No, League of Legends is not dying. Very far from it, even. Currently, League of Legends’ playerbase is around 130 million unique monthly users. The game has maintained this level of activity for several years. No matter what happens or what other games release, LoL’s success isn’t affected in the long run.
Esports are the same story. The League of Legends Worlds Finals 2025 had a peak viewership of 6.4 to 6.9 million people each of the past three years, without counting Chinese viewers. 2024 was in fact League of Legends’ all-time record for that metric, and 2025 reached the same amount.
| Year | Number of monthly active users |
|---|---|
| 2011 | 15,000,000 |
| 2012 | 32,000,000 |
| 2013 | 67,000,000 |
| 2014 | 70,000,000 |
| 2015 | 90,000,000 |
| 2016 | 100,000,000 |
| 2017 | 81,000,000 |
| 2018 | 75,000,000 |
| 2019 | 116,000,000 |
| 2020 | 137,000,000 |
| 2021 | 149,000,000 |
| 2022 | 152,000,000 |
| 2023 | 152,000,000 |
| 2024 | 132,000,000 |
| 2025 | 131,000,000 |
| 2026 | 131,000,000 (January estimate) |
From the game’s release in 2009, League of Legends grew steadily until 2016, when it reached the milestone of 100 million monthly active users. The game then declined over the next two years, before growing even further in 2019 and afterwards. League of Legends kept a playerbase of 150 million monthly active users from 2021 to 2023, which then shrank to 130 million.
Clearly, LoL has known a golden era during those three years. Considering that it lasted until 2023, this wasn’t just a product of the lockdowns. Does that mean that League of Legends is dying now?
League of Legends is still popular as ever in 2025. Image Source: Riot Games
Still not – there’s important context behind that drop. In 2024, Riot Games launched Vanguard for League of Legends. Among other things, Vanguard was used to crack down on botted accounts. While exact numbers are unknown, millions of botted accounts got the boot from Riot’s anti-cheat. This pushes the number of active users without meaning that fewer people are playing League now.
Vanguard probably doesn’t explain the full dip, though, and millions did likely stop playing League after 2023. However, the number immediately stabilized – they reached a new, lower standard instead of being in consistent decline.
With a playerbase of 130 million monthly active users, League of Legends remains the most popular PC-only game.
A popular point is that League of Legends is dying in the West, but growing in Eastern Asia. North America in particular seems to fail to attract new players and to renew its playerbase.
Here is a breakdown of the ranked population in several servers in 2025 and 2022:
| Server | 2025 ranked playerbase | 2022 ranked playerbase | Comparison | Peak season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EUW | 4,030,000 | 4,320,000 | -6.7% | 2022 |
| EUNE | 1,680,000 | 2,030,000 | -17.2% | 2020 |
| NA | 1,790,000 | 2,100,000 | -14.8% | 2020 |
| Other Western servers combined | 4,180,000 | 4,630,000 | -9.8% | 2020 |
| All Western servers combined | 11,680,000 | 13,080,000 | -10.7% | 2020 |
| KR | 3,800,000 | 4,530,000 | -16.1% | 2021 |
| All servers combined (excluding China) | 16,380,000 | 18,440,000 | -11.2% | 2020 |
Note: The number of ranked players differs from source to source depending on when they were evaluated during the year. These numbers were taken at the end of both years.
Generally speaking, the ranked population is down compared to 2022. However, League of Legends also lost 13.8% of its monthly active accounts in the meantime. This means:
League of Legends has lost players in the West, but not more than the rest of the world. This has also been a one-time loss, and the numbers stabilized after 2023. In fact, due to the end of the split system, the ranked playerbase was up 40% in 2025 compared to 2024.
League of Legends is still going strong in the West!
Read also: Why the West can’t win against the East in LoL Worlds
Every year, the League of Legends World Championship is one of the most anticipated events in gaming. No matter the meta, the state of the game, the hosting country, or the participating teams, dozens of millions of people gather to watch the matches.
In recent years, the LoL World Championship has only become more popular.
| Year | Peak viewership (including Chinese viewers) | Peak viewership (excluding Chinese viewers) | Total unique viewers during Finals (including Chinese viewers) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 210,000 | Unknown | 1,600,000 |
| 2012 | 1,100,000 | Unknown | 8,000,000 |
| 2013 | 8,500,000 | Unknown | 32,000,000 |
| 2014 | 11,000,000 | Unknown | 27,000,000 |
| 2015 | 14,000,000 | Unknown | 36,000,000 |
| 2016 | 14,700,000 | 1,560,000 | 43,000,000 |
| 2017 | Unknown | 2,100,000 | 60,000,000 |
| 2018 | 44,000,000 | 2,050,000 | 99,600,000 |
| 2019 | 44,000,000 | 3,990,000 | Over 100,000,000 |
| 2020 | 46,000,000 | 3,880,000 | Unknown |
| 2021 | 73,860,000 | 4,020,000 | Unknown |
| 2022 | Unknown | 5,150,000 | Unknown |
| 2023 | Unknown | 6,400,000 | Unknown |
| 2024 | 50,000,000 | 6,860,000 | Unknown |
| 2025 | Unknown | 6,750,000 | Unknown |
Regional leagues receive lower viewership now than they used to, amidst regular format changes. However, Worlds has seen its highest viewership numbers in 2024 and 2025. The strong esport scene also nourishes an entire ecosystem of co-streaming, analysis, and esports betting.
Note: The comparisons are made on the peak viewership without Chinese viewers, as the one stat that has been available for each of the past 10 iterations.
Millions of fans gathered to watch the LoL Worlds Finals in 2025. Image Source: Riot Games
League of Legends is still popular many years after its official launch in 2009. One of the reasons behind this is that the game keeps itself fresh. With patches every two weeks, the game constantly evolves. Strong picks move in and out of the spotlight, champions change, strategies adapt.
Read also: LoL ranking system explained
Once or twice a year, League of Legends also undergoes bigger changes. This is both LoL’s curse and its blessing. The players expect the game to change, yet they still seek their place of comfort in it. If League changes too much, it no longer provides that; if it changes too little, it becomes stale. To make matters worse, not all players have the same needs.
In 2025, LoL players voiced their frustration at the game not changing enough and being too well-balanced. To address that, Riot implemented a sweeping patch for Season 2026. The company listens to the community, and tries to meet its demands, for example by trying to make LoL more enjoyable to play. Riot Games also produces top-notch content: Arcane, the World anthems, the music department in general, books and comics, and a handful of other games; all of these have been hits that help re-ignite the spark for the game.
Riot Games enters year 10 of players saying that League of Legends is dying. Image Source: Riot Games
However, the final hurdle that League of Legends faces is finding a way to reach new players again. With a poor tutorial, an odd control scheme, and PC MOBAs no longer being the trend, League of Legends isn’t dying but it struggles to find new players.
Riot already began implementing the WASD control scheme to help people find an entry point into the game. For 2027, they revealed that they’ll also revamp the new player experience, as well as the entirety of the game. Will this succeed? Only time will tell.
For now, League of Legends is still widely popular.
Read also: Best LoL Players of all time
Featured Image Source: Riot Games
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