Riot Games plans to lay off around 80 developers from the 2XKO team, cutting roughly half the staff. This decision follows the free-to-play tag-team fighter’s strong console launch just weeks ago.
2XKO’s full 1.0 version arrived on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S in January after a long PC early access period. It quickly became one of the month’s top free-to-play downloads, outperforming rivals like Marvel Rivals and Highguard.
Executive Producer Explains Team Reduction
Executive producer Tom Cannon outlined the rationale in an official update. “After a lot of discussion and reflection, we are reducing the size of the 2XKO team,” he wrote. “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.”
Cannon addressed potential concerns, pledging continued updates and new content for the game.
Community and Developer Responses
The news has triggered backlash online. One player posted on social media, “I cannot wait for 2XKO to never be in another fighting game tournament after this year.”
Another remarked, “I thought I was pretty cynical regarding Riot and 2XKO, but it turns out I wasn’t nearly cynical enough.”
A longtime developer shared, “Ten years on 2XKO, 12 at Riot and I got laid off with 30 minutes notice lol. Gonna take some time.”
While 2XKO launched with a modest 11-character roster for 2v2 battles and drew criticism over microtransactions, players widely commend its core mechanics as fun and engaging.
