Shyvana’s long-awaited visual rework is almost here, and we already have some information about her new look and release date.
Demacia will be the theme for the first season of 2026, featuring Shyvana’s long-awaited update, which will debut later in the season. Riot Games has been subtly teasing her rework in recent videos, and fans are more than ready to see the new Shyvana.
Shyvana's concept art
Initially, Shyvana’s rework was scheduled for 2025, but it ended up being delayed. In the concept art Riot shared, we can see more of her dragon side than her human side. Her features are now much more dragon-like, a big change from her original model back in 2011. According to some leaks, her hair will be reddish-orange instead of black, and she will also sport Petricipe armor covering her chest and right arm.
Shyvana's rework first look
On Nov. 30, a well-known League of Legends leaker, BigBadBear, shared some in-game pictures of Shyvana's rework. Her appearance does look like the concept art shared early on.
On Jan. 7, Riot Games released the Salvation cinematic, opening the 2026 season. We finally got our first look at what Shyvana might look like, even though the design still changes before it appears in-game. The Fortiche studio makes very unique animations, but Shyvana's design will be very similar, which ended up being confirmed by the first look at her VGU.
On the first developer's video of the year, the team shared a first look at the reworked Shyvana. We can confidently say that she looks incredible compared to her 2011 model. "The update brings all-new visuals for both Shyvana’s base human form and her dragon form. While her abilities remain similar to before the update, her kit features some minor changes," Riot Games explained.
Connection to Demacia
Giving you some context on Shyvana's lore, she is a magical creature that often appears humanoid, but she can take her true dragon form when it's time to fight. When she saved Prince Jarvan IV's life, she became his royal guard, even though the majority of the people didn't like her presence. Despite being half dragon, Shyvana has human emotions because she was created among humans.
Delaying Shyvana's rework to coincide with the Demacia season actually makes perfect sense. Even though she was born in another region, Shyvana considers Demacia her true home. She’s willing to risk everything to protect her prince. And now, we have full confirmation. Her rework will arrive during the Demacia season, set to release in early 2026. However, she is not debuting her new look right away.
Riot Meddler confirms Shyvana's rework in 2026
At the beginning of the month, Riot Meddler confirmed that Shyvana's VGU would come during the Demacia season, but not during the first patch of the season. "We're subtly teasing because we want to give you all confidence she is indeed coming in the Demacia season, though," he added.
Riot Games has already confirmed that Shyvana's rework is coming during Act II.
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