We’ve known for a while that Riot Games would shift from being the League of Legends company to being the “bunch of games” publisher, and that the process would include some growing pains. One area for improvement we’ve identified is our old account system, which wasn’t as prepared for us to transform into a multi-game developer as we’d like. Once we dug around, we found that we flat-out couldn’t launch more games unless we made some major adjustments.
We know that no one likes waking up to an email or notification that they need to make a new username. We also know that the future of Riot isn’t in League of Legends accounts, but in Riot Accounts that you can use to log in to any of our games. Because of this, we’re making an adjustment to our account system that might require you to make some changes to the name you use to log in.
Why are you changing usernames in the first place?
While our previous account system was broken down by region and linked specifically to League of Legends, your new Riot Account will be the name you type into the sign-in screen for any of Riot’s games. Going global means having globally unique usernames across all regions. Therefore, for us to switch to this new account system, there’s a chance you may need to change your username if it’s in conflict with the same name in another region (even if that other name belongs to you).
Why do I need to change my username?
No two usernames can be the same, which means if you have the same username on a few different servers (including PBE), you’ll need to make sure they’re each one of a kind. In most cases, though, the accounts that share a name aren’t owned by the same person, so you may need to change it before you play. Obviously it can feel pretty crummy to lose the username you’ve had for years, but we think that many of the new systems we’ve put in place – like the ability to Stay Signed In – should make things easier overall.
Please Note
This will not affect the transfer policies in any given game, so please check with each game's Support Site for further information.
Is this the same as my Summoner Name?
Nope. Your username is the name you use to log in, not the one other players see in-game (like your Summoner Name in League of Legends). No one has access or visibility to your username except you.
What will I need to do?
If you have a name that is not already globally unique, you might have already received an email from us asking you to go through and make sure that your name, regardless of server, is the only one of its kind. By changing your name to be globally unique, it will ensure that you are you, no matter which Riot Game you’re playing. You can always click here which will not only let you know if you need to change your name, but it will allow you to do so if necessary.
What if I have the same username on a bunch of different servers?
If you have signed up for League of Legends on multiple League of Legends servers (including PBE), you’re going to need to make sure that each account has a unique name. If you’re the only person with this name worldwide (just on multiple accounts), you can get the username you want on your primary account by making sure you update that one last.
- Step 1: Figure out all of the accounts that you have that might be blocking each other. If they are all attached to the same email account, you should have received an email listing them out for you (the subject line was “Important updates to your Riot Account”).
- Step 2: Log into your PBE/alternate accounts first on this website, and update them however you see fit. We’ve seen a lot of people adding the region to the end to keep track of them.
- Step 3: Once you’re 100% sure you’ve updated all of your alts and secondary accounts (again, don’t forget PBE), log back in to your primary account. If you were the only person worldwide with that account name, you should be unblocked, so you shouldn’t get the pop-up anymore.
Please Note
This will only work if you’re truly the only person in the world with that username. If anyone in any other region has that account name, you still will likely need to change your username before you log in. You might go through that process and still need to change your primary username if it turns out someone else out there is also using it.
What happens if I don't change my username?
To start, you’ll get a dismissible popup in League of Legends that reminds you that your username needs to change. In early January, that pop-up is going to be non-dismissible, meaning it won’t let you play unless you make the change. While you’ll still get past the login screen, you won’t be able to do anything in-game until you update your account. Then, once we remove the region selector from the login screen in early February, you’ll need to go to the website before you can even log in.
Why isn't it first-come, first-serve? Shouldn't the oldest account get the name?
We looked into these systems (and more) and found that they presented their own set of issues. For instance, if three players have the same username, and we flag that the “first” or “oldest” gets to keep it, that still doesn’t solve the fact that some other players out there also have that name. When they try to log in, the accounts system can’t know if it’s you, or if it’s a different person trying to log in, since you all have the same username, which means we’re right back to square one. We can’t go around just changing players’ usernames without them knowing how to solve this, because that risks completely locking players out of their accounts for good. In the end, first-come, first-serve created several problems that risked players losing their accounts, and we didn't want that for anyone.
Can I just log in with my email address?
We’d originally hoped to add that as an option for Riot Accounts, but we weren’t able to get that done in time for the rollout. Since Riot Accounts are integral to launching new games, we had to pivot away from emails and towards our current system in order to get everything done in time. We’re still exploring this for an update at some point in the future, but for now, we wanted to focus on making sure everyone could log in by February.
What if I mistakenly changed my Riot Account to something I didn't want?
Mistakes happen. If you swapped the wrong username or mistakenly named the wrong one the wrong thing, we’re currently working on an update that will let you fix this yourself early next year – expect to hear more in early January! Otherwise, you can reach out to Riot Support, and we will do our best to help you out with these mistakes.
Can I wait until the last second to see if the other person changes their name first?
You can, but you might run into issues when we get closer to the official cut-off in February. Once we get there, you won’t make it past the login screen without a unique name. You’ll get an error when you type in your name and password, forcing you to go to this website to make the change after that.
When can I expect to hear from y'all if my name isn't globally unique?
There's a good chance you may have already received an email from us about this. We'll be continuing to send out emails to anyone who needs to change their name, so keep your eyes peeled (or, if you want to get a jump on it, you can always click here). Be sure to change your username as soon as you can, because in early February, you’ll no longer be able to sign-in with your old name to play any of our games. You can still sign in to change your username, but you won’t be able to play League until you have a globally unique username. And, if your username is already globally unique, you’re all set.
I didn't get an email, but when I log in, it says I need to update. What gives?!
First up, check your spam folder for an email from noreply@mail.accounts.riotgames.com. Nothing there? Something might have gone wrong on our side. If you’re looking for a list of which usernames might be impacted, you can use the Riot Account Recovery tool, which can send you a list of every username you have attached to a specific email.
Can I update my username, even if I didn't get an email or notification to?
Right now, we’re only opening the ability to change your username if you need to in order to make it globally unique. If you have a specific reason you still might need to update your username, please reach out to Riot Support.
I'm having an issue updating my account. I think I'm stuck in some sort of loop?
We’ve noticed some players have been getting stuck in a loop when trying to change their username. Please try using an Incognito Tab in Chrome, or using a different browser (like Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox), and follow these steps:
- Log out of your account in the Client (press Alt + F4 if you have no other option), and make sure you uncheck the Stay Signed In box.
- Open the website: https://update-account.riotgames.com/
- Log in to the account that you want to change the username of and select the server the account belongs to.
- Change the username of the selected account.
If the issue still persists, reach out to Player Support and we will figure out our next steps.