New League of Legends champion – Locke release date
After months and months of secrecy, we’ve finally caught our first glimpse of Locke, the new League of Legends champion. An AP midlane assassin with a high-mobility kit that’s primed for popping healthbars, he’s a powerful addition to the roster, and man does he ooze style. With lashings of Devil May Cry’s Dante and Vergil, the Ashen Exorcist certainly looks the part, so here’s everything you need to know about Locke and his release date.
Who is the new League of Legends champion?
The new League of Legends champion is Locke, and is confirmed to be an AP mid assassin. He will be champion 173.
I attended a roundtable with Riot ahead of Locke’s official reveal, where it described him as a “cool, stylistic” addition to the roster that “relates really well to his target audience.” Here’s a full rundown of Locke’s abilities, and what you can expect.
When does the new League of Legends champion release?
Locke is set to release on Wednesday June 24, 2026. Riot has officially confirmed that Locke is the only character releasing this year.
This is likely a result of Riot pivoting focus to League Next, the game’s colossal new update that’s set to be revealed at MSI in July.
League of Legends Locke: Lore
Locke’s mission statement is a simple one: demons are bad, but humans are worse. Locke (full name Corvin Locke) is well-versed in all-things supernatural, having grown up among some of Demacia’s most ruthless occultists. Realizing that demons are simply the by-product of humanity’s sins, he’s intent on making the world more righteous and honest, and he’s not afraid to use violence to do so.
In Back from the Brink, his cinematic debut, we see him face off against a demon-possessed Vayne. As the fight ensues, it becomes pretty clear that Locke can tap into some otherworldly powers himself, with the artifact that’s used during his ultimate seemingly trapping souls in one place. As he uses these powers, he pays a price: slowly but surely he’s being consumed by them, and one day, there likely won’t be anything left.
He seems to already know Vayne, however, who greets him with a somewhat sulky “this doesn’t mean we’re even” post-brawl. These two have history, then; complex history, by the sound of it. He also seems to have some serious mommy issues, based on some of his voicelines. But, you didn’t hear that from me.
Given that he’s well versed with the supernatural, it’s also unsurprising that he’s tangoed with Evelynn, League of Legends’ resident demonic temptress. In his official biography, he catches the purple menace preying on a farmer in a Brookhollow tavern, disguised as a beautiful young woman, who turns out to be the man’s dead wife. After a brief battle, Evelynn informs Locke that she’d had a “huntress” on her tail, identifying Vayne in exchange for release. As Evelynn vanishes into the night, we see Locke head into the Wyldwoods, where it’s safe to presume the battle in Back from the Brink takes place.