Riot Games plans to lay off approximately 80 staff members from the 2XKO development team, representing roughly half the group, even after a solid console debut for the free-to-play tag fighting game.
Official Statement on Team Reduction
Executive producer Tom Cannon announced the cuts in an update on the official Riot Games website. “After a lot of discussion and reflection, we are reducing the size of the 2XKO team,” Cannon stated. “I want you to know that decision wasn’t made lightly. As we expanded from PC to console, we saw consistent trends in how players were engaging with 2XKO. The game has resonated with a passionate core audience, but overall momentum hasn’t reached the level needed to support a team of this size long term.”
Launch Details and Performance
The 1.0 version of 2XKO launched on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S in January, following an extended early access phase on PC. During its console rollout, the title ranked among the top downloaded free-to-play games of the month, surpassing rivals like Marvel Rivals and Highguard.
Despite this early success, Riot determined the engagement trends fell short of expectations for sustaining the full team size.
Player Reactions and Game Reception
The news has sparked concern among players, especially given 2XKO’s history of a prolonged development cycle and an initial roster of just 11 characters for its 2v2 format. One Bluesky user posted, “I cannot wait for 2XKO to never be in another fighting game tournament after this year.” Another wrote, “I thought I was pretty cynical regarding Riot and 2XKO, but it turns out I wasn’t nearly cynical enough.”
A former developer shared, “Ten years on 2XKO, 12 at Riot and I got laid off with 30 minutes notice lol. Gonna take some time.”
Overall, players have responded positively to the core gameplay, though typical free-to-play critiques around microtransactions persist. Riot assures continued content updates and transparency moving forward.
