Riot Games to Conclude Development of 2XKO by End of 2026
Riot Games has announced that it will cease active development on its League of Legends inspired fighting game, 2XKO, at the close of 2026. Although development will stop, the company assures that the game’s servers will remain operational beyond that date. This decision follows Riot’s inability to sustain a sufficient player base to justify ongoing support and new updates.
The action fighting game first launched in early access on PC in October 2025, eventually making its way to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X / S by January. Shortly after these releases, Riot began reducing the development team, indicating that the game’s growth had not met expectations, stating, “overall momentum hasn’t reached the level needed to support a team of this size long term.”
Throughout the past year, Riot assessed 2XKO’s performance, noting successful moments during new character introductions and competitive events. However, these highlights did not result in any sustained growth. According to Riot, the game requires substantially more resources to operate than it generates financially. In their statement on Thursday, they expressed that “even in these highlight moments, we saw no meaningful, sustained change in 2XKO’s trajectory.” Ultimately, the company deemed continued development impossible under current circumstances.
Riot plans to unlock all 2XKO characters for players and will issue refunds for those who spent money on in-game purchases. Despite the decision to stop development, game access will continue, mirroring approaches taken by other companies facing live service challenges. Remedy’s FBC: Firebreak, which also ended active updates earlier this year, remains available to players. Meanwhile, Epic Games faced similar setbacks with Fortnite, leading to staff cuts in March amidst declining player engagement.
Reporting based on coverage first published by theverge.com.