League of Legends Fighting Game Project L Finally Gets a Name

The League of Legends spin-off Project L finally has a new name. Riot Games announced this week that the fighting game featuring League of Legends champions like Yasuo, Darius, Ahri, Illaoi, Ekko, and more will now be called "2XKO." The new name of the game was accompanied by a trailer showing off more of the champions mentioned here including a better look at Illaoi which many have been waiting on while following Project L socials for more news, but unfortunately, the game doesn't yet have a release date.

Alongside the new name and the gameplay trailer, 2XKO executive producer Tom Cannon discussed plans for the game moving forward in a separate video. Cannon confirmed that the plan is to roll out playtests for the game this year with major gaming events like EVO Japan in April and others to follow. Outside of those big events which are fitting spots for a 2XKO playtest but aren't very accessible to many people, Cannon also suggested that there'd be more playtest news in the future indicating that widespread playtests will hopefully be available this year.

Project L's New Name & Trailer

But before digging into Cannon's comments, you can check out the new trailer for the game above wherein you'll see some 2v2 combat played out. The same trailer also offered the first look at the 2XKO name for the game as well as the logo for it.

For those who were wondering how you'd pronounce it or if there was some special way to say it that rolls off the tongue quickly, the 2XKO team confirmed on socials that "it's pronounced how it's spelled," so you're saying it correctly if you're sounding out the "2" and every letter after it. Cannon confirmed the pronunciation as well in his video talking about the game and its next stage of development. In his video, Cannon attributed that new development phase to the team's desire to set an official name for the game.

"Here's why we're making the switch: This year we're entering a new phase of development," Cannon said. "Our dev team has grown significantly since we last talked, and things are really ramping up. We still have a lot of game left to build, but we're far enough along that it's time to start sharing more with you over the coming year."

2XKO was officially announced as Project L back in 2019, so considering how it's not coming out till 2025, it's been a long wait for League of Legends fans who wanted to see more of the fighting game. Cannon reassured those who've been waiting by saying in his video that League players and fighting game fans will see much more from the 2XKO team this year.

"You're going to see a lot more of us this year, and we think that this community-first approach is the most effective way to make 2XKO the best game it could be at launch and beyond. 2023 was us in Project L heads-down mode with a really valuable check in at Evo. 2024 will be about getting you more involved with events, updates and, yes, maybe even some at-home playtesting later this year. And in 2025, we're aiming to fully launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S and X, and PC."

Those interested in signing up for future playtests can do so now via the 2XKO site.