2XKO’s Layoffs Is Bad News for 2026’s Most Promising Fighting Game

Riot Games has recently announced several layoffs surrounding the team of 2XKO, the tag-team fighting game featuring well-known League of Legends characters. This news comes at a surprising time, especially when you consider that the game just had its official console release less than three weeks ago. While it is unknown exactly why the team behind 2XKO has been downsized, this reduction to the game’s development resources doesn’t bode well for its future.

There have been plenty of criticisms surrounding 2XKO since its early access period began on PC back in late 2025. While the 2v2 gameplay was unique and had a ton of depth for players to sink their teeth into, it tried to strike a strange balanced between accessible input systems and complex controls for optimal combos. However, the biggest complaint players had was to the overpriced cosmetic store items in 2XKO, which could have been tied to the layoffs in some way.

Riot Games Announced Many Layoffs From The 2XKO Team Only Two Weeks After Launch

According to Riot Games themselves, the 2XKO layoffs are due to the game’s lack of momentum, which “hasn’t reached the level needed to support a team of this size.” This is incredibly disappointing, as many of the developers for 2XKO are veteran members of the fighting game community (FGC), and often trusted figures within that scene. While many core members of the 2XKO team still remain, some core people behind the game’s existing roster have been let go.

The biggest shock from these layoffs is how soon they took place, as it has only been a week or two since the console launch. Riot claims that a “passionate core audience” were engaged with the game, but implies that not enough people were playing to support the team behind it. The official statement from Riot does go on to claim that their plans for 2026 are largely unchanged, with competitive events and partnerships still planned as normal for the rest of the year.

This huge shift to how 2XKO operates aims to reflect a “smaller, focused team” according to Riot. With goals to “give 2XKO a more sustainable path forward,” more signs continue to point toward a lack in success in the game’s model. While former developers are being given other opportunities within Riot or up to six months of severance pay, the layoffs feel like a massive deflation of excitement surrounding the fighting game. This is especially true when you remember how it spent nearly a decade being made at Riot by some of the people being fired.

Continued 2026 Support Will Likely Be Far Less Than What Fans Expected

Although Riot has promised continued support throughout 2026’s Competitive Series, it is unclear how this will look going forward. Collaborations with tournaments like Combo Breaker and EVO are likely still planned, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see a sudden dip in 2XKO events sponsored by Riot at smaller events as time goes by. This could easily snowball into other plugs being pulled surrounding the game too.

Judging the reaction of fans, this seems to be one of the largest frustrations with the layoffs, as it makes it seem like Riot was disingenuous with their commitment to support a game connected to the wider FGC. Without as many team members to keep 2XKO going, it will possibly become harder and harder for the developers to add new content, provide consistent updates, and otherwise continue the game’s growth over time.

Fewer Characters & Updates From Lack Of Riot Resources Could Kill This 10+ Year Project

Fewer developers might have a cascading effect on 2XKO, preventing characters from being added to the roster or from balance patches from being worked on to keep the game interesting for players. 2XKO was already burdened with a small roster, only featured 12 out of 170+ League of Legends characters who could translate into the fighting game. While fans were once hopeful this small problem with the game could be fixed over time, a smaller team behind 2XKO will make it much harder to add new fighters.

The sad part about the 2XKO layoffs is just how much love went into the game up until this point. While fans can point to the overpriced character skins, strange Store systems, and small roster as points of complaint, there was no denying just how much polish this fighting game has. Every character has deep mechanics for players to explore, with stylized graphics and great presentation that made 2XKO an exciting entry in the genre.

Developing from 2015’s free to play title Rising Thunder into Project L, then 2XKO, this game has seen over 10 years of total refinement into a game with a clear direction. The layoffs are a heavy blow to such a dedicated project, calling into question the overall design philosophy of the game or Riot’s unrealistic expectations for a fighting game with its strange monetization practices. No matter the reason why 2XKO‘s team has been laid off, it is an overall negative for a game that had a lot of love poured into its creation.

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