Riot Games Slashes 2XKO Development Team Following Weak Launch
Riot Games has drastically reduced the workforce dedicated to its free-to-play fighting game, 2XKO, laying off approximately 80 employees—roughly half of the project’s staff. As first reported by Game Developer, the decision follows a disappointing debut for the title. In an official statement, Executive Producer Tom Cannon admitted that the game failed to capture a sufficiently large player base.
Set within the expansive League of Legends universe, 2XKO was long considered a prestige project for Riot. It endured a turbulent decade-long development cycle characterized by several internal reboots. Despite the anticipation, these significant staff cuts arrived just three weeks after the game’s January 20 release.
“I want you to know that decision wasn’t made lightly,” Cannon stated. “As we transitioned from PC to console, we observed clear trends in player engagement. While the game has found a dedicated core audience, the overall momentum hasn’t reached the threshold required to sustain a team of this scale over the long term.”
Cannon clarified that a “leaner, more specialized team” will remain to implement critical updates and provide support for tournament organizers and the 2026 Competitive Series. He emphasized that the layoffs do not reflect the quality of the work, praising the “creativity, care, and belief” the departing staff poured into the project over the years.
The human cost of the restructuring was highlighted by veteran designer and producer Patrick Miller, who shared his experience on BlueSky: “Ten years on 2XKO, 12 at Riot and I got laid off with 30min notice lol. Gonna take some time.”
This downsizing underscores the immense challenge of penetrating the fighting game market, even for a juggernaut like Riot. Despite the involvement of Tom and Tony Cannon—the founders of the premier fighting game tournament Evo—2XKO struggled to disrupt a genre dominated for decades by incumbents like Capcom, Bandai Namco, and NetherRealm. While the “FGC” (Fighting Game Community) is passionate, it is also notoriously discerning; 2XKO faced early criticism regarding its steep learning curve and a relatively small character roster.
Riot’s difficulty in diversifying its portfolio remains a recurring theme. While spinoffs like Valorant and Teamfight Tactics have seen varying degrees of success, other ambitious ventures have faltered. The company’s League of Legends MMO underwent a total development “reset” in 2024, and the Minecraft-inspired Hytale was eventually handed back to its original developers after years of stagnation under Riot’s wing.
For now, 2XKO survives in a diminished capacity as Riot continues its search for a hit beyond the MOBA genre.
Source: Polygon
