2XKO

Last updated

2XKO
2XKO game logo.svg
Developer Riot Games
Publisher Riot Games
Director Shaun Rivera
Producer Tom Cannon
Designers
  • Seth Killian
  • Daniel Maniago
Artists
  • Jessica Oyhenart
  • Katon Callaway
Composers
  • Jesse Zuretti
  • Casey Edwards
  • Mike Pitman
Series League of Legends
Engine Unreal Engine
Platforms
Release
January 20, 2026
  • Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
    • WW: January 20, 2026 [a]
Genre Fighting
Mode Multiplayer

2XKO is a free-to-play fighting game developed by Riot Games, set in the Runeterra universe from League of Legends . It released for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S. [1] [2]

Contents

Gameplay

Pre-release gameplay screenshot 2XKO gameplay.webp
Pre-release gameplay screenshot

2XKO is a 2v2 tag-team fighting game where players select two characters from the League of Legends universe. The game emphasizes strategic team play, allowing players to switch between their Point (primary) and Assist (secondary) characters using a tag system. [3] Players can move their characters using standard directional inputs.

The game includes dashes, jumps, and air dashes to enhance mobility. The control scheme features light, medium, and heavy attacks, with each character having unique normal and special moves that can be executed using specific button combinations. [4] Special moves are performed with a combination of directional inputs and attack buttons. Supers, which are powerful moves that consume meter, can be executed by pressing either light, medium, or heavy, and a special move button. The tag system allows players to swap between their Point and Assist characters using a handshake tag, enabling dynamic combos and strategic play. Players can call in their Assist for support or switch to them to continue a combo. [5] [6]

The game includes various defensive options to enhance gameplay. Players can block incoming attacks by holding back on the directional input. Pushblocking is a mechanic that allows players to push their opponent away, creating space and disrupting their offense. [7] Players can also parry attacks, negating damage and creating opportunities for counterattacks. [8] Each character has different abilities and playstyles; for example, Ahri is known for her mobility and zoning capabilities, Darius is a mid-range fighter with powerful and brutal attacks, and Ekko uses time manipulation for tricky and unpredictable moves. The Fuse system allows players to customize their duos' synergies and playstyles, increasing the strategic depth of the game by enabling players to tailor their team composition to their preferred playstyle. [9] [10] The game offers various game modes, including private matches and a training mode. [11]

Characters

The game featured 11 playable characters when it launched in early access, with additional characters planned to be added as post-launch content. [12] The following characters have been officially announced for inclusion:

Release PatchCharacterDetails
Season 0 [a] Ahri [12]
Ekko
Yasuo
Darius
Illaoi
Braum
Jinx
Vi [13]
Blitzcrank [14]
Teemo [15]
Warwick [16]
Season 1Caitlyn [b] [17]

Development

Initially announced in 2019 as Project L, the game was later rebranded to 2XKO. [18] It is being developed by Riot Games in their Los Angeles, Sydney and San Francisco Bay Area studios, formerly known as Radiant Entertainment, [19] and was released in January 2026 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. [20] The game was made available in early access for PC on October 7, 2025. [16] Music was a key part of the game design that Jesse Zuretti worked on, based on briefs from Mike Pittman and Eugene Kong's briefs about each character; with the key challenge being making a fighting game soundtrack feel exactly like it should. [21]

Early access

A closed beta for 2XKO launched on September 9, 2025, featuring ten playable characters. During the beta period, Riot Games released several patches that addressed character balance, improved matchmaking, and fixed bugs. [22] The closed beta received a positive response from players and press, with reviewers noting the depth of the tag-team system and the effectiveness of the parry mechanic. [23] On September 25, 2025, Riot Games announced that the closed beta would transition directly into early access on October 7, 2025, skipping the typical gap between beta and launch phases. Early access launched exclusively on PC as a free-to-play title alongside Season 0, which introduced the first seasonal content including a Battle Pass and combo trials for all characters. [24] The early access version added an eleventh character, Warwick, and introduced combo trials with 23 trials per champion across four difficulty levels. [25]

Console launch and Season 1

On January 20, 2026, 2XKO launched on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S alongside the beginning of Season 1 on all platforms. [26] The console release included cross-platform play and shared account progression between PC and consoles. [27] Season 1 introduced Caitlyn as a new playable champion, a new Battle Pass, and the Frame Perfect competitive skin line, with a portion of sales directed toward funding community tournament prize pools and production costs. [28] Riot outlined a plan for five seasons per year, each approximately ten weeks long and featuring a new champion. [29]

Competitive scene

During early access, Riot Games launched the First Impact program to support competitive play, sponsoring 22 community-run tournaments through the remainder of 2025. [30] By the end of 2025, over 1,500 community-organised tournaments had taken place worldwide. [31] Rather than establishing a developer-run professional league as it does with League of Legends and Valorant, Riot opted to partner directly with existing fighting game community tournament organisers. For 2026, the company announced the 2XKO Competitive Series comprising 20 Riot-sanctioned events: five Majors and 15 Challenger-level tournaments across five seasons. [32] The first Major was held at the Frosty Faustings XVIII fighting game event on January 29, 2026. [33]

Team restructuring

On February 9, 2026, less than three weeks after the console launch, Riot Games announced a significant reduction to the 2XKO development team. Approximately 80 roles were eliminated, representing roughly half of the game’s global development staff. [34] Executive producer Tom Cannon attributed the decision to player engagement that had not met expectations, stating that while the game had attracted a dedicated core audience, overall momentum was insufficient to sustain a team of that size. [35] Riot stated that plans for the 2026 Competitive Series remained unchanged and that affected employees would receive a minimum of six months’ severance or be given the opportunity to transfer to other roles within the company. [36] The decision drew considerable attention within the gaming industry, with commentators noting the contrast between the game’s lengthy development cycle of approximately ten years and the speed of the post-launch staff reduction. [37]


Reception

The PC and PlayStation 5 versions of 2XKO both received generally favorable reviews from critics, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. [38] [39] Fellow review aggregator OpenCritic assessed that the game received strong approval, being recommended by 100% of critics. [40]

It was nominated for "Best Fighting Game" at The Game Awards 2025, and for "Fighting Game of the Year" at the 29th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards. [41] [42]

The game reached #3 in the North American download charts, and #10 in Europe. [43]

Notes

  1. 1 2 Early access launch on October 7, 2025
  2. ↑ Post-launch addition

References

  1. ↑ Makar, Connor (July 9, 2024). "Everything we know about 2XKO (Project L) the Riot Games fighting game, and all character reveals". VG247. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  2. ↑ Ladd, Dylan (July 30, 2024). "Riot Games' '2XKO' Has a Promising Future — If You're Willing to Wait". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  3. ↑ Borger, Will (August 1, 2024). "Riot's 2XKO is the Tag Fighter I Didn't Know I Wanted". IGN. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  4. ↑ Bernardo, Anna (February 23, 2024). "Project L is officially named 2XKO; Riot Games finally names its League of Legends fighting game". Yahoo News. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  5. ↑ Enriquez, X. C. (February 23, 2024). "2XKO: The Riot Games Fighting Game Project L now has a Name". ClutchPoints. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  6. ↑ Opalec, Lloyd (July 29, 2024). "2XKO Hopes to Revolutionize Tag-Team Fighting Games". Game8. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  7. ↑ Kopic, Belmin (February 23, 2024). "Project L (2XKO) - List of all universal moves that every character can perform". AltChar. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  8. ↑ Kopic, Belmin (February 23, 2024). "Project L (2XKO) - List of all confirmed champions so far". AltChar. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  9. ↑ 2XKO (Formerly Project L): Introducing Duo Play - /dev diary. Riot Games. July 26, 2023. Retrieved August 5, 2024– via YouTube.
  10. ↑ Richman, Olivia (August 3, 2024). "2XKO Fuse System Explained — All Fuses Revealed". Esports Illustrated. Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on August 5, 2024. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  11. ↑ "2XKO News | What's in 2XKO Alpha Lab". 2xko.riotgames.com. August 7, 2024. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
  12. 1 2 Allen, Eric Van (March 28, 2025). "League of Legends Fighting Game 2XKO Will Have Just 10 Playable Characters at Launch, Riot Confirms". IGN. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
  13. ↑ Makar, Connor (July 22, 2025). "Heads-up, Arcane fans: Vi has been revealed as 2XKO's eighth fighter ahead of its final beta landing in September". EuroGamer. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  14. ↑ Chinnick, Dakota (September 2, 2025). "Blitzcrank". Metabot. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
  15. ↑ Romano, Sal (September 29, 2025). "2XKO adds Teemo". Gematsu. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  16. 1 2 Denzer, TJ (October 6, 2025). "Warwick confirmed playable in 2XKO as early access kicks off tomorrow". Shacknews. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  17. ↑ Xu, Davide (December 12, 2025). "Caitlyn to join 2XKO roster in January 2026". Esports Insider. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
  18. ↑ Chalk, Andy (February 22, 2024). "Riot's Project L fighting game finally gets a proper title, will hopefully be out sometime in 2025". PC Gamer. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  19. ↑ Parrish, Ash (February 22, 2024). "Riot's League of Legends fighter is now called 2XKO". The Verge. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  20. ↑ Romano, Sal (December 5, 2025). "2XKO for PS5, Xbox Series launches in January 2026". Gematsu. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
  21. ↑ "2XKO Interview - Talking Knockout Tunes with Jesse Zuretti". February 6, 2026. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
  22. ↑ Hills, Dakota (October 10, 2025). "2XKO early access review — Was it worth the long wait?". EventHubs. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  23. ↑ Baird, Daryl (October 2, 2025). "2XKO early access: Does Riot Games have another hit?". Esports Insider. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  24. ↑ "2XKO Early Access: What to Expect". 2XKO Official. Riot Games. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  25. ↑ Denzer, TJ (October 6, 2025). "Warwick confirmed playable in 2XKO as early access kicks off tomorrow". Shacknews. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  26. ↑ "2XKO Is Coming to Console January 20". 2XKO Official. Riot Games. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  27. ↑ "2XKO console and Season 1 global launch times revealed". Esports Insider. January 13, 2026. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  28. ↑ "2XKO Patch Notes: 1.1.1 (Jan 20 2026)". 2XKO Official. Riot Games. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  29. ↑ Connolly, Denny (February 10, 2026). "Riot Games Shares 'Difficult Update' Regarding Layoffs on 2XKO Team". Vice. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  30. ↑ "2XKO Early Access Starts October 7". 2XKO Official. Riot Games. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  31. ↑ "2XKO's Plans for Competitive Play in 2026". 2XKO Official. Riot Games. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  32. ↑ LeBlanc, Wesley (December 5, 2025). "Riot's 2XKO Arrives On Consoles In January". Game Informer. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  33. ↑ "2XKO console and Season 1 global launch times revealed". Esports Insider. January 13, 2026. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  34. ↑ Francis, Bryant (February 9, 2026). "Riot Games lays off roughly 80 employees from 2XKO team". Game Developer. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  35. ↑ "An Update on 2XKO". Riot Games. February 9, 2026. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  36. ↑ Chalk, Andy (February 9, 2026). "Riot lays off 2XKO developers less than three weeks after release". PC Gamer. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  37. ↑ LeBlanc, Wesley (February 9, 2026). "Riot Games Is Laying Off Around 80 2XKO Employees Three Weeks After The Game's Launch". Game Informer. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  38. 1 2 "2XKO PC Critic Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved January 31, 2026.
  39. 1 2 "2XKO PlayStation 5 Critic Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved January 31, 2026.
  40. 1 2 "2XKO". OpenCritic . Retrieved January 31, 2026.
  41. ↑ Lewis, Claire (December 11, 2025). "Here are all The Game Awards 2025 winners". Polygon . Retrieved December 11, 2025.
  42. ↑ LeBlanc, Wesley (January 8, 2026). "The 29th DICE Awards Nominees Have Been Revealed, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 And Ghost Of Yōtei Lead The Pack". Game Informer . Retrieved January 10, 2026.
  43. ↑ https://blog.playstation.com/2026/02/04/playstation-store-january-2026s-top-downloads/
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