League of Legends: Riot Games Officially Marks the End of an Era

Riot Games has announced that it will cease active development on 2XKO, its tag-team fighting game set in the League of Legends universe. The studio confirmed plans to wrap up its current production slate before winding down continuous support this December.

Despite a warm reception from the fighting game community and an enthusiastic core player base, long-term retention failed to meet the benchmarks necessary to support a full-scale live-service model. Riot acknowledged that while numerous players initially tested the waters, active engagement did not scale sufficiently to create a sustainable ecosystem.

The announcement comes shortly after 2XKO enjoyed a prominent showcase at Evo 2026, where it stood as the tournament’s third-largest event behind genre titans Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8.

Why Is Riot Sunsetting Active Development on 2XKO?

According to Riot, an exhaustive review of key performance indicators—including player retention, new user acquisition, and overall revenue—revealed that major updates did not meaningfully alter the game’s trajectory. The operational costs required to continually expand and balance the title significantly outpaced the revenue it generated.

Faced with flatlined engagement trends, the studio determined that continued investment in new content was no longer viable. Consequently, microtransactions have been disabled, sales of the premium KO Points currency have ceased, and all playable champions are now permanently unlocked for all players free of charge.

Player Refunds and Monetization Shutdown

In response to the transition, Riot is issuing full reimbursements for all real-money purchases made on or prior to August 20.

PC Players: All purchases of KO Points and the 2XKO Starter Edition made before August 20 will be refunded directly to the original payment method. The majority of PC refunds are slated for completion within a few weeks, with full distribution expected by November 2026.

Console Players: PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S users will receive refunds processed directly through their respective platform storefronts. Platform customer support teams will coordinate the return of funds where required.

Final Roadmap: Remaining Champions and Server Longevity

Before entering maintenance mode, 2XKO will fulfill its promised content pipeline for the remainder of the year:

• September (Patch 1.3.1): Introduces Lux, the Lady of Luminosity, designed as an accessible, light-wielding fighter built around classic shoto archetypes.
• October: Debuts the final roster addition, Samira, the Desert Rose, a high-octane bounty hunter equipped with seamless transitions between sword strikes and gunplay.
• December: Deploys the final planned patch, focusing entirely on quality-of-life improvements, system stability, and bug fixes rather than new features.

Following the December update, servers will remain online to support online matchmaking and casual play indefinitely, with offline functionality fully intact across Windows PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. When active development wraps, 2XKO‘s final character lineup will feature 17 playable champions.

Source: Polygon