In one of the more heartbreaking developments of the gaming industry this year, Riot Games has announced the end of active development for its League of Legends fighting game, 2XKO, in December. While the writing had been on the wall, the official announcement was still a gut punch to the fighting game community.
Riot’s development team explained their decision in a blog post on August 20, attributing the end of development to a lack of sustaining player numbers. Despite the dedicated daily player base and enthusiastic online community, the wider audience just didn’t stick around long enough to ensure the game’s sustainability.
For fans, there is some good news amidst the disappointment. The game will remain online beyond 2026, ensuring that offline play remains unaffected. The 2XKO team will continue to roll out new content until the end of this year, with feature improvements, the addition of champions Lux and Samira, and a final bug fix patch in December. Yet, it’s worth noting that the status of online play could change, as Riot mentioned that they would provide advance notice of any updates.
Riot also unveiled plans to transition the game’s economic and competitive systems. Purchases made before August 20 will be refunded, while new purchase options are introduced such as a bundle for nearly all cosmetic content, priced at $39.99. Along with this, Riot plans to disable systems like Battle Passes and KO Points, and ranked lobbies will also be removed to streamline matchmaking in casual lobbies. Private lobbies, however, will continue to operate normally.
In terms of competitive play, the 2XKO Competitive Series will continue until the end of 2026, and Riot will support these efforts by providing prizing for Major and Challenger events. After the series wraps up, tournament organizers can still host events within the guidelines provided by Riot.
The end of development for 2XKO is a reflection of market realities. Despite the passion of diehard fans, the game didn’t resonate broadly enough with the wider fighting game audience. Riot considered various options to keep the game going, including workforce reductions and business model changes, but concluded that completing their current content plans and ending active development was the best way forward.
The news has received a strong response from the fighting game community. Evo, the world’s largest fighting game tournament, expressed their disappointment in the decision, as did many players. Some criticisms have been directed at Riot for their tendency to cancel projects that don’t mirror the success of League of Legends.
The doubts surrounding 2XKO’s future had been growing since Riot laid off team members back in February. Although the game will remain playable for now, fans are rightfully concerned about what this means in the long term. With servers still operational for the foreseeable future, dedicated players have time to relish their remaining opportunities for online play.
Stay tuned to BlueBoxNERD for the latest updates in nerd culture as we navigate these developments.
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