Riot Games is Downsizing 2XKO’s Dev Team Less Than a Month After Launch

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Riot Games has announced it’s scaling back the team working on its fighting game, 2XKO. This news comes only three weeks after the game officially launched on computers and consoles.

The fighting game now known as 2XKO has been in development for quite some time. Originally announced as ‘Project L’ in 2019, it officially became 2XKO in August 2024. After entering early access on PC in October 2025, the full 1.0 version launched on January 20, 2026, for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. It’s available as a free-to-play game with ongoing live service updates.

2XKO’s Dev Team Is Already Facing Layoffs

Image via Riot Games

Only three weeks after its release, Riot Games, the creator of the fighting game 2XKO, has announced changes to its development. In a statement posted on February 9th, Riot confirmed they are “reducing the size of the 2XKO team.” Tom Cannon, the game’s Executive Producer, explained the reasons behind this decision.

We didn’t make this decision easily. As we broadened 2XKO from PC to consoles, we noticed clear patterns in how players were using the game. While a dedicated group of players really enjoys it, overall player numbers haven’t grown enough to justify maintaining a team of this size in the long run.

Despite the recent news, development on 2XKO isn’t stopping, according to Riot. They’re shifting to a smaller, more focused team to make key improvements to the League of Legends fighting game, including changes players have requested since it launched. The plans for the 2026 Competitive Series are still on track. Riot says this team change is meant to ensure 2XKO has a stable future.

The recent reduction in size of the 2XKO development team has resulted in layoffs. Riot Games says they are working to help affected employees find new roles within the company, but this won’t be possible for everyone. Those who can’t be moved to other positions will receive at least six months of severance pay, as stated by Tom Cannon. A Riot spokesperson confirmed to Game Developer that around 80 people – roughly half of the 2XKO team – have been laid off. Riot thanked the 2XKO community and promised to keep fans updated on the game’s development.

The recent news has surprised many fans, especially considering the game 2XKO has only been available for a few weeks. Critics generally loved 2XKO, giving it an average score of 80 on OpenCritic and a 100% recommendation rate. Reviewers particularly praised its unique art style, engaging fighting system, and how easy it was for new players to pick up. While some noted a limited character selection and minor technical problems, most believed these could be fixed with updates after release.

Beyond positive reviews, 2XKO benefited from being connected to a hugely popular game and the buzz around the Arcane series on Netflix. However, some players believe the game’s marketing didn’t clearly show its connection to League of Legends or the world of Runeterra, which may have hindered its overall success.

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2026-02-10 16:04