Riot ends active development on League of Legends fighting game 2XKO and issues refunds

Riot Games has announced that active development on 2XKO, its free-to-play fighting game set in the League of Legends universe, will cease in December 2025. The decision comes less than a year after the game’s full launch in January, with the company stating that it does not see a sustainable path forward for the title. Players who have spent money on the game will receive refunds.

The tag-team fighter was originally revealed as Project L before being officially named 2XKO. It launched as a free-to-play title on PC and consoles, offering a 2v2 tag-team combat system that emphasised cooperative play. Riot had positioned the game as a major entry into the fighting game genre, hoping to attract both existing League of Legends fans and competitive fighting game players. However, the game struggled to maintain a strong enough player base to match the company’s expectations.

In a statement, Riot cited a lack of sufficient adoption and retention rates as the primary reason for ending development. The company noted that while 2XKO had a dedicated core audience, the overall player numbers were not large enough to justify continued investment. This is a familiar challenge for live-service games, which rely on sustained engagement to remain viable. Riot’s other free-to-play titles, such as League of Legends and Valorant, have managed to build massive, long-lasting communities, but 2XKO failed to replicate that success.

The announcement also comes amid broader restructuring at Riot Games. The company has been conducting layoffs across multiple departments in recent months, as part of a wider trend of cost-cutting in the gaming industry. While Riot did not explicitly link the 2XKO decision to these layoffs, the timing suggests that the company is prioritising resources toward its most profitable and popular projects.

Refunds and maintenance mode

Riot has confirmed that it will issue refunds to players who made purchases in 2XKO. The exact process for claiming refunds has not yet been detailed, but the company has promised to provide further information in the coming weeks. After December, the game will enter a maintenance mode, meaning no new content, characters, or balance updates will be released. The servers will remain online for the foreseeable future, so players who already own the game can still access it, but the experience will be frozen in its current state.

This outcome is a disappointment for the fighting game community, which had high hopes for 2XKO. Riot’s entry into the genre was seen as a potential challenger to established titles like Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, and Guilty Gear Strive, especially given the company’s track record with competitive games. However, the tag-team format, while innovative, may have been too niche for a mainstream audience. Some players also criticised the game’s monetisation model and the pace of content updates, though Riot has not commented on those factors.

The closure of active development on 2XKO is a reminder of the risks inherent in the live-service model. Even with a well-known IP, strong developer pedigree, and a free-to-play price point, a game can fail to gain the traction needed to survive. For Riot, the focus now shifts back to its core titles, while the fighting game genre continues to evolve without its most ambitious newcomer.