Riot Games has announced that League of Legends: Turret Defense is now available for the iPhone and iPod Touch in the iTunes App Store. The game is free and lets players enjoy League of Legends while they're away from their computers.

Here's information on the game straight from the forum post: "In League of Legends: Turret Defense, players strategically select and place upgradeable turrets on the field and defend against waves of minions, dragons and even a couple of the Champions from League of Legends!"

For those of you who don't have an iPhone or iPod Touch, Riot Games plans to launch a flash version in the future.

Riot Games has made a couple of interesting announcements this week for League of Legends players. First of all, the 10 free Champions for week 7 have been updated and will include the release of a new tank Champion with the patch. (UPDATE: The new tank has been revealed as Poppy, the Iron Abassador. You can read all about the Champion after the jump.)

The second announcement is that three new skins will be added in the patch and will be available for purchase in the League of Legends store. The skins are Badger Teemo, Phantom Karthus and Golden Bull Alistar.

Riot Games has updated the 10 free Champions for this week in League of Legends, and it includes a few Champions that are free for the first time. Here's the list:

Ashe (Ranged DPS), DrMundo (Melee DPS), Evelynn (Melee DPS), Janna (Mage), Karthus (Mage), Kayle (Tank), Singed (Tank), Sivir (Ranged DPS), Warwick (Melee DPS), Zilean (Support)

More information, including stats and a look at past lineups, can be found in this thread on the official forums.

Riot Games just released details for Nidalee the Beast Mistress, the newest champion in League of Legends. She was taught to fight by her feline family and can transform into a cougar, so she has two sets of abilities. You can read her full bio after the jump.

Nidalee will be available for free next week as part of the rotating lineup of 10 free champions. The full lineup has been posted on the game's official forums, so check it out to see all of their stats.

Riot Games has announced that the League of Legends store is scheduled to open tomorrow, Nov. 20. Players will be able to use the Influence Points they earn through playing the game to purchase Champions and Runes, which give you stat bonuses. You will also be able to use real money to buy Riot Points, which can be used to buy new skins and unlock Champions. More information on the store can be found after the jump.

Speaking of purchasing items, Riot Games has also revealed new pricing options and bundles for League of Legends. You can play it for free and use your 10 rotating Champions to earn Influence Points, buy the Collector's Pack to get 20 Champions from the start, or purchase the Champion's Bundle to get all 40 initial Champions right off the bat. There's a comparison chart for all of these options after the jump.

Riot Games posted the patch notes for version 1.0.0.52 today, and they include a number of changes to the PVP.net client. A help system has been added to give players basic information about the client, and the client has been optimized for performance. Loading and login times may take a little longer, but loading in the rest if the client should be up to five times faster in some areas.

The rest of the patch contains a number of bug fixes and modifications in League of Legends, such as changes to damage, cooldowns, ranges and mana costs. You can read the full patch notes after the jump.

Riot Games just announced the champion rotation lineup that will be implemented once the store opens in League of Legends. The team plans to have a rotating set of 10 free champions available to players at all times. Each week will have a different amount of types available; for example, the first week will have two tanks, three melee DPS, one ranged DPS, and so on.

The first week will begin once the store is open. Riot Games hasn't announced the launch date of the store yet, but plans to reveal it "soon." You can check out the champion rotation schedule and a short Q&A in this post on the official League of Legends forums.

The League of Legends pre-season begins today, which means the game is now officially available for everyone to play. League of Legends will be operated in seasons, which is why Riot Games feels it makes sense to have a pre-season period so players can learn the game and build relationships. The team announced last month that the first season will begin in the first half of 2010.

The celebrate the launch, Riot Games is temporarily unlocking all Champions. According to the announcement, "players will be able to choose their favorite Champions and accumulate experience and Influence Points. In several weeks we will finish the celebration by opening the store and allowing you to spend the points that you’ve earned to permanently unlock your favorite Champions and Runes!"

A brief FAQ for players who pre-ordered or purchased the game can be found after the jump. For more information on League of Legends, check out our recent preview of the game and our interview with Riot Games President Marc Merrill at the Penny Arcade Expo.

Riot Games has revealed its newest map for League of Legends, which will officially be added to the closed beta tomorrow, Oct. 20. Twisted Treeline is best suited for 3v3 action with its layout of two lanes and two forests. You can view screenshots of the map in our gallery and read the full profile for the map after the jump.

The pre-season for League of Legends will begin on Oct. 27, which is when the game will become available in retail stores and fully open online. The game will be operated in seasons, which is why the team feels it makes sense to have a pre-season period so players can learn the game and build relationships. The first season will begin in the first half of 2010.

Riot Games announced today that the pre-season for League of Legends will begin on Oct. 27, which is when the game will become available in retail stores and fully open online. The game will be operated in seasons, which is why the team feels it makes sense to have a pre-season period so players can learn the game and build relationships. The first season will begin in the first half of 2010 and will "include clans, teams, tournaments, ranked play and ladders, draft mode, as well as additional content such as new Champions and maps."

League of Legends is currently in closed beta, although a short open beta will be held before the pre-season begins. If you'd like to participate in the closed beta, we're still giving away keys! Just head over to this page to claim your key. More information on the pre-season can be found in the FAQ after the jump.