As of patch 12.6, there are currently 171 champions with the latest champion being Yunara, the Unbroken Faith. To see when a champion was released, we’ve made this helpful table that lists the release date of every champion.
| Champion | Release Date |
| Yunara | July 16, 2025 |
| Mel | January 23, 2025 |
| Ambessa | November 6, 2024 |
| Aurora | July 17, 2024 |
| Smolder | January 31, 2024 |
| Hwei | December 5, 2023 |
| Briar | September 14, 2023 |
| Naafiri | July 19, 2023 |
| Milio | March 23, 2023 |
| K’Sante | November 2, 2022 |
| Nilah | July 13, 2022 |
| Bel’Veth | June 9, 2022 |
| Renata Glasc | February 17, 2022 |
| Zeri | January 20, 2022 |
| Vex | September 23, 2021 |
| Akshan | July 22, 2021 |
| Gwen | April 15, 2021 |
| Viego | January 21, 2021 |
| Rell | December 10, 2020 |
| Seraphine | October 29, 2020 |
| Samira | September 21, 2020 |
| Yone | August 6, 2020 |
| Lillia | July 22, 2020 |
| Sett | January 14, 2020 |
| Aphelios | December 11, 2019 |
| Senna | November 10, 2019 |
| Qiyana | June 28, 2019 |
| Yuumi | May 14, 2019 |
| Sylas | January 25, 2019 |
| Neeko | December 5, 2018 |
| Pyke | May 31, 2018 |
| Kai’Sa | March 7, 2018 |
| Zoe | November 21, 2017 |
| Ornn | August 23, 2017 |
| Kayn | July 12, 2017 |
| Rakan | April 19, 2017 |
| Xayah | April 19, 2017 |
| Camille | December 7, 2016 |
| Ivern | October 5, 2016 |
| Kled | August 10, 2016 |
| Taliyah | May 18, 2016 |
| Aurelion Sol | March 24, 2016 |
| Jhin | February 1, 2016 |
| Illaoi | November 24, 2015 |
| Kindred | October 14, 2015 |
| Tahm Kench | July 9, 2015 |
| Ekko | May 29, 2015 |
| Bard | March 12, 2015 |
| Rek’sai | December 11, 2014 |
| Kalista | November 20, 2014 |
| Azir | September 16, 2014 |
| Gnar | August 14, 2014 |
| Braum | May 12, 2014 |
| Vel’Koz | February 27, 2014 |
| Yasuo | December 13, 2013 |
| Jinx | October 10, 2013 |
| Lucian | August 22, 2013 |
| Aatrox | June 13, 2013 |
| Lissandra | April 30, 2013 |
| Zac | March 29, 2013 |
| Quinn | March 1, 2013 |
| Thresh | January 23, 2013 |
| Vi | December 19, 2012 |
| Nami | December 7, 2012 |
| Zed | November 13, 2012 |
| Elise | October 26, 2012 |
| Kha’Zix | September 27, 2012 |
| Syndra | September 13, 2012 |
| Rengar | August 21, 2012 |
| Diana | August 7, 2012 |
| Zyra | July 24, 2012 |
| Jayce | July 7, 2012 |
| Draven | June 6, 2012 |
| Darius | May 23, 2012 |
| Varus | May 8, 2012 |
| Hecarim | April 18, 2012 |
| Lulu | March 20, 2012 |
| Fiora | February 29, 2012 |
| Nautilus | February 14, 2012 |
| Ziggs | February 1, 2012 |
| Sejuani | January 17, 2012 |
| Viktor | December 29, 2011 |
| Ahri | December 14, 2011 |
| Volibear | November 29, 2011 |
| Fizz | November 15, 2011 |
| Shyvana | November 1, 2011 |
| Graves | October 19, 2011 |
| Xerath | October 5, 2011 |
| Riven | September 14, 2011 |
| Talon | August 24, 2011 |
| Skarner | August 9, 2011 |
| Wukong | July 26, 2011 |
| Leona | July 13, 2011 |
| Yorick | June 22, 2011 |
| Orianna | June 1, 2011 |
| Vayne | May 10, 2011 |
| Rumble | April 26, 2011 |
| Brand | April 12, 2011 |
| Lee Sin | April 1, 2011 |
| Nocturne | March 15, 2011 |
| Jarvan IV | March 1, 2011 |
| Maokai | February 16, 2011 |
| Karma | February 1, 2011 |
| Renekton | January 18, 2011 |
| Caitlyn | January 4, 2011 |
| Cassiopeia | December 14, 2010 |
| Trundle | December 1, 2010 |
| Irelia | November 16, 2010 |
| LeBlanc | November 2, 2010 |
| Lux | October 19, 2010 |
| Swain | October 5, 2010 |
| Sona | September 21, 2010 |
| Miss Fortune | September 8, 2010 |
| Urgot | August 24, 2010 |
| Galio | August 10, 2010 |
| Vladimir | July 27, 2010 |
| Xin Zhao | July 13, 2010 |
| Kog’Maw | June 24, 2010 |
| Olaf | June 9, 2010 |
| Malzahar | June 1, 2010 |
| Akali | May 11, 2010 |
| Garen | April 27, 2010 |
| Kennen | April 8, 2010 |
| Shen | March 24, 2010 |
| Ezreal | March 16, 2010 |
| Mordekaiser | February 24, 2010 |
| Gragas | February 2, 2010 |
| Pantheon | February 2, 2010 |
| Poppy | January 13, 2010 |
| Nidalee | December 17, 2009 |
| Udyr | December 2, 2009 |
| Heimerdinger | October 10, 2009 |
| Shaco | October 10, 2009 |
| Nasus | October 1, 2009 |
| Corki | September 19, 2009 |
| Katarina | September 19, 2009 |
| Blitzcrank | September 2, 2009 |
| Dr. Mundo | September 2, 2009 |
| Janna | September 2, 2009 |
| Malphite | September 2, 2009 |
| Gangplank | August 19, 2009 |
| Taric | August 19, 2009 |
| Kassadin | August 7, 2009 |
| Veigar | July 24, 2009 |
| Anivia | July 10, 2009 |
| Rammus | July 10, 2009 |
| Amumu | June 26, 2009 |
| Cho’Gath | June 26, 2009 |
| Karthus | June 12, 2009 |
| Evelynn | May 1, 2009 |
| Tryndamere | May 1, 2009 |
| Twitch | May 1, 2009 |
| Singed | April 18, 2009 |
| Zilean | April 18, 2009 |
| Alistar | February 21, 2009 |
| Annie | February 21, 2009 |
| Ashe | February 21, 2009 |
| Fiddlesticks | February 21, 2009 |
| Jax | February 21, 2009 |
| Kayle | February 21, 2009 |
| Master Yi | February 21, 2009 |
| Morgana | February 21, 2009 |
| Nunu & Willump | February 21, 2009 |
| Ryze | February 21, 2009 |
| Sion | February 21, 2009 |
| Sivir | February 21, 2009 |
| Soraka | February 21, 2009 |
| Teemo | February 21, 2009 |
| Tristana | February 21, 2009 |
| Twisted Fate | February 21, 2009 |
| Warwick | February 21, 2009 |
Which Champions Were the First Released?
Alistar, Annie, Ashe, Fiddlesticks, Jax, Kayle, Master Yi, Morgana, Nunu, Ryze, Sion, Sivir, Soraka, Teemo, Tristana, Twisted Fate and Warwick are all part of the original release champions, with Singed and Zilean being released within the closed beta.
To this day, the only one of these to remain mostly unchanged is Zilean. His kit and looks have not changed in the last 16 years, outside of a small “rework” that just made his Q a skillshot.
Although he took a while to develop, Singed was actually the first champion to be developed for League of Legends.
Champions Released by Year
2009 - 42
Considering this was the first year, it's only natural to expect the most champions to be released in 2009. League’s first year released with a cast of 17 characters, increasing to 19 in the closed beta, with 23 total champions releasing throughout the first season.
2010 - 24
The first season had half as many champions released as the last, but champions were starting to get increasingly complex.
2011 - 24
Season 23 had the same amount of releases than season 1, purely by coincidence, with added complexity in champion design. 2011 was also the year when the first champion was reworked, with a total of 10 champions being either reworked or visually upgraded.
2012 - 19
After 3 years of over 20 champions being released, this was the first year that Riot started to slow down. With 19 champions released throughout 2012, it was still a lot but clearly less than the previous years.
2013 - 8
After 4 years of releasing over 10 champions a year, Riot finally slowed down their release schedule and started to take more time designing. After all, there was already around 117 champions released at the time that rivaled even DotA 2.
2014 - 6
Just went you thought they couldn’t release any less than 8, Riot released only 6 champions throughout 2014. With an average of around 2 releases per month, this was an all-time low at the time. However, champion design had been in a bit of a golden age ever since 2013, with a ton of new champions like Zed, Azir and Gnar with incredibly ambitious mechanics that would hold up in quality for longer than a decade.
2015 - 5
At this point, there were around 123 champions out so it was unlikely for Riot to release any more than 10 within a year. As ideas started to run out, Riot had to explore new concepts they had never looked at before. Developers spoke about ideas for abilities that would completely change the game, such as Ekko being able to rewind the match clock. It wasn’t scrapped because it was impossible to do, it was scrapped because it was too frustrating to play against. Yes, they playtested it.
2016 - 6
Although new champions had been slowing down for a while, Riot focused more on reworks and VGUs, with a total of 25 champions updated. With that said, most designs from 2016 still hold up extremely well almost 10 years later.
2017 - 5
2017 was a great year for the League champion pool. We got champions like Kayn, Rakan, Xayah, Ornn. These champions click so well with the League of legends formula that they feel like classics. Their mechanics still stay relevant and unique.
2018 - 3
2018 was a bit more humble, but had revolutionary champion design. We got only 3 champions, with all of them being very interesting and new takes on the roles they were supposed to fill. Neeko was a midlane mage able to disguise as other champions, Kai’Sa was the first ADC to intentionally integrate AP into her kit, and Pyke was the first ever support designed to deal damage.
2019 - 5
The most memorable this year was Yuumi, with the unique mechanic of attaching to a champion and staying invulnerable as long as that champion does not die. We also received Sylas, who expanded the much-needed lore on Demacia and somehow managed to not break the game with his ultimate on release.
2020 - 6
2020 was a rough year. Not because of the champion release count, but because most champions were very strong in release. Sett, Yone, Samira, Seraphine and Lillia were all pretty strong on their release and had their numbers toned down. Rell was the opposite, needing her numbers pumped up and eventually reworked a few years later to find her place in the meta.
2021 - 4
2021 opened up with the Ruined King, Viego, with the main game mechanic of being able to possess champions he kills for a short time. We also saw the release of Gwen, Akshan and Vex, all of which were thematically tied to the Ruined King storyline. Since then, all four champions have found their place in the meta.
2022 - 5
2022 had a ton of champions the community wanted for a long time, including a zaunite, Zeri, a chembaron, Renata, and a new monster champion, Bel’Veth. However, they had the same issue as 2020—most of them needed quite a few touch-ups right after release. K’Sante was the most heinous case.
2023 - 4
This year had the first new enchanter since Yuumi in 2019, Milio, who was very well received. 2023 was generally very strong, with all champions requiring minimal adjustments after release to successfully finding themselves in strong places in the meta.
2024 - 3
2024 is the record low for the lowest champions released in a year. And, well, are they at least good champions? Sort of.
This year’s roster included Smolder, Aurora and Ambessa. None of them really brought anything new to the table, but they embodied the basics of ADC, mid lane and top lane so well that they immediately cemented themselves in the meta. There’s beauty in their simplicity, and it’s a breath of fresh air after all the years of crazy ideas for ultimates and passives.
2025 - 3 (so far)
2025 has so far seen the release of Mel and Yunara, and we’re expecting the release of Zaahen, the new darkin champion, somewhere near the end of the year. Although we’re still at a record low of champions released, Mel and Yunara were both released in relatively balanced positions.
How Do League of Legends Compare to Other MOBAs?
Currently in League of Legends, there are 171 champions available to choose from. Let’s compare this number to other MOBAs in the market:
| MOBA | Characters |
| League of Legends | 171 |
| Smite | 130 |
| DotA 2 | 126 |
| Heroes of the Storm | 90 |
As you can see, League of Legends currently sports the largest array of characters in the MOBA genre. If you’re interested in finding more games like League of Legends, then be sure to read our article on it!
