Oracle Plans $45–$50 Billion Funding Push in 2026 to Expand Cloud and AI Infrastructure 
Elon Musk’s SpaceX Acquires xAI in Historic Deal Uniting Space and Artificial Intelligence 
Rewardy Wallet and 1inch Collaborate to Simplify Multi-Chain DeFi Swaps with Native Token Gas Payments 
SoftBank and Intel Partner to Develop Next-Generation Memory Chips for AI Data Centers 
US Judge Rejects $2.36B Penalty Bid Against Google in Privacy Data Case 
Google Disrupts Major Residential Proxy Network IPIDEA 
Palantir Stock Jumps After Strong Q4 Earnings Beat and Upbeat 2026 Revenue Forecast 
Pentagon and Anthropic Clash Over AI Safeguards in National Security Use 
Apple Earnings Beat Expectations as iPhone Sales Surge to Four-Year High 
Samsung Electronics Posts Record Q4 2025 Profit as AI Chip Demand Soars 
Elon Musk’s SpaceX Explores Merger Options With Tesla or xAI, Reports Say 
Advantest Shares Hit Record High on Strong AI-Driven Earnings and Nvidia Demand 
SpaceX Updates Starlink Privacy Policy to Allow AI Training as xAI Merger Talks and IPO Loom 
Nvidia Confirms Major OpenAI Investment Amid AI Funding Race 
Elon Musk’s Empire: SpaceX, Tesla, and xAI Merger Talks Spark Investor Debate 
OpenAI Reportedly Eyes Late-2026 IPO Amid Rising Competition and Massive Funding Needs 
Abruptly leaving a match or moving away from the keyboard (AFK) could affect other players, especially in online multiplayer games like “League of Legends.” So for repeat offenders, Riot Games confirmed it is planning to introduce heavier penalties soon.
In a recent developer update, Riot Games announced a new type of punishment designed for players, who continue ruining others’ experience by leaving matches or being AFK. Currently, the developer uses a three-tier penalty system called Queue Delay.
As the name suggests, players detected to commit these practices are temporarily locked out of matches once they hit the play button. However, Riot Games said about 9% of players who leave or go AFK continue with their behavior even after getting slammed with a Queue Delay.
It has then prompted Riot Games to add new tiers in the penalty system and to introduce a new punishment called Queue Lockout. “Once a queue lockout does expire, it's followed by the maximum-level queue delay so we can still maintain the benefits of behavior modification and players who take a break don’t get to sit out their entire punishment,” the “League of Legends” developers explained.
Queue Lockouts will be imposed on “League of Legends” players whose punishments are elevated to new tiers 4 to 7 due to repeated AFKs that will all entail a 15-minute delay for five games. Queue Lockouts will be activated for a day in Tier 4, three days in Tier 5, seven days in Tier 6, and seven days in Tier 7. These changes are planned for all MOBA queues.
The developers said they want AFK players to have time to change their behavior before being moved to Tier 4 and up. “Any player that is currently at a very high tier will be reset to Tier 3,” Riot Games added. They also promised to improve the evaluation system for players who are punished with Queue Delays and Queue Lockouts in consideration of those who “reform” themselves or are simply located in regions where internet connection is often much less stable.
A specific time frame for the implementation of Queue Lockouts was not mentioned. But Riot Games said they will test the new “League of Legends” penalty tiers in select regions first before launching it worldwide.
