Riot Games adds full team voice chat to League of Legends in Patch 26.20
After 17 years without built-in voice communication for full teams, Riot Games is rolling out team-wide voice chat in League of Legends starting with Patch 26.20. The feature launches first in North America and Oceania, with other regions like Korea, Brazil and Latin America potentially following depending on how the rollout goes. Players need an Honor level of 3 or higher to speak, though anyone can listen, and Riot is also introducing customizable 'voice skins' along with improved noise cancellation and connection stability.
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Voice communication has long been considered essential for coordinated team-based games, and its absence made League of Legends something of an outlier among competitive titles. The success of this rollout hinges on moderation, since unrestricted voice chat has historically amplified toxicity in online games, and Riot's Honor-based gating system represents an attempt to balance communication benefits against community backlash risks.
- Team-wide voice chat arrives in Patch 26.20 after 17 years without it, starting in North America and Oceania.
- Only players with Honor level 3 or higher can speak, though everyone can listen, as a moderation safeguard.
- Riot is also adding customizable voice skins plus improved noise cancellation and connection stability.
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Published there as: “Riot, after 17 years, finally adds team voice chat to League of Legends”
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