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2XKO studio seemingly hit with big time layoffs

BennyBlanco

BennyBlanco

aka IMurRIVAL69
Hey Everyone -

I wanted to take a moment to share an important update on 2XKO. This is a difficult update to share, but we want to be clear about what's changing and why.

What's changing and why

After a lot of discussion and reflection, we are reducing the size of the 2XKO team.

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.

With a smaller, focused team, we're going to dig in and make key improvements to the game, including some of the things we've already heard you asking for. We'll share some of our plans soon.

Our plans for the 2026 Competitive Series are unchanged. We remain committed to partnering with tournament organizers and local communities. Our focus will continue to be on supporting the events and organizers that already power the FGC.

Ultimately, this decision reflects a shift in how we operate. This isn't a judgment on individual Rioters or a signal that the journey is over. We're reshaping the team to give 2XKO a more sustainable path forward.
Click to expand...





Crazy how fast this is happening after their 1.0 launch. I love fighting games and this game never really appealed to me nor have I ever played it, so I guess I'm part of the problem. F2P games really need to hit the ground running or your ass is getting fired.
 
bomba
BennyBlanco said:
Crazy how fast this is happening after their 1.0 launch. I love fighting games and this game never really appealed to me nor have I ever played it, so I guess I'm part of the problem. F2P games really need to hit the ground running or your ass is getting fired.
Click to expand...
also: 10 years of development, this game cost them a loooooot of money
 
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Googling it, PC gamers unknown. On PS it was the third ranked downloaded game. So the game has got to have a decent PS base trying it. Xbox top played it's around rank 90th so bomb there.
 
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StreetsofBeige said:
Googling it, PC gamers unknown. On PS it was the third ranked downloaded game. So the game has got to have a decent PS base trying it. Xbox top played it's around rank 90th so bomb there.
Click to expand...

It's been available on PC for like 2 years. Idk how popular it is but I see a lot of people on twitter talking about it the last few years. Hard to tell who is actually a fan or a paid shill when it comes to Riot tho.
 
So they're not making enough to keep the current size of the team. Unfortunate. I stop playing the game out of personal taste but I definitely don't want folks losing their job.
 
Yikes, spending 10 years working on a fighting game is wild, especially one with so little content. The game itself isn't too bad but I don't blame them for laying people off.
 
they picked to do a fighting game instead of an MMO. Think the MMO would have had a better migration of their current player base into it.
MOBA to fighting game mechanics .. there is such a huge gap. New comers dont have any idea who those characters are. I hope that the game being on the EVO list make people pic up the game.
A good tournament showcase will give the game great publicity.
I also hope the dev were not expecting to make LOL type of player numbers, because fighting games in general done have that level of user base.
 
It's a decently fun game, but now I'm wondering if there's a reason to put more time into it. This seems like the beginning of the end.

The biggest mistake was the extremely small roster for a tag fighter. Should have launched with 20 characters minimum.
12 is not enough and you end up seeing the same characters over and over, which makes the game feel stale and samey every match.
 
The writing was on the wall when it was in beta. What made them think that new players were gonna download, play and engage with a degenerate (gameplay wise) tag fighter? Why would league players play this game over LoL?

Not surprised by this, but I didn't expect it so soon
 
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Renoir said:
they picked to do a fighting game instead of an MMO. Think the MMO would have had a better migration of their current player base into it.
MOBA to fighting game mechanics .. there is such a huge gap. New comers dont have any idea who those characters are. I hope that the game being on the EVO list make people pic up the game.
A good tournament showcase will give the game great publicity.
I also hope the dev were not expecting to make LOL type of player numbers, because fighting games in general done have that level of user base.
Click to expand...
They're actively working on an MMO. It's been in development for a long time. The latest prototype allegedly was another WoW-clone and was summarily scrapped. Good thing too, if people want a WoW styled experience they can just log in to WoW.
 
My understanding is that internally, they're pretty happy with the game's debut, but they waaaaay overhired and had like 8 brand managers on the project or something asinine like that. So imagine that extends to a bunch of different functions. Apparently, Riot likes to hire on way more people than they need for a project with no intention of keeping them around after... but they refuse to just have contractors take on those roles. Shit culture, honestly.
 
The Gamer Triple H said:
The writing was on the wall when it was in beta. What made them think that new players were gonna download, play and engage with a degenerate (gameplay wise) tag fighter? Why would league players play this game over LoL?

Not surprised by this, but I didn't expect this so soon
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Yeah, honestly what's how I felt about it from the get-go. I personally don't care for Riot or their IPs / characters. I never cared for LoL, but I grew up with fighting games and was interested in 2XKO to a degree. But it didn't help that their universes and characters just didn't interest me. I always wondered who the game was for, because the entire project felt like a gigantic risk. Much like their MMO that's basically a WoW wannabe.

But then again, I also know that I hated everything about Valorant and I guess it's more successful than I initially thought and hoped it'd be. So maybe I'm just a bad gauge for anything that revolves around Riot, lol.
 
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It came out? I had no idea. You should do at least a little marketing when you release a game. But the name doesn't help the game either.
 
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Renoir said:
they picked to do a fighting game instead of an MMO. Think the MMO would have had a better migration of their current player base into it.
MOBA to fighting game mechanics .. there is such a huge gap. New comers dont have any idea who those characters are. I hope that the game being on the EVO list make people pic up the game.
A good tournament showcase will give the game great publicity.
I also hope the dev were not expecting to make LOL type of player numbers, because fighting games in general done have that level of user base.
Click to expand...
i saw this a few days ago...

8HAslm6E4fQW1bM9.jpeg


nobody gives a shit about any fighting game but sf6. More people care about 30 year old vampire savior than 2kxo.
 
It was always a risk imo, because I can't think of a single fighting game live-service success.

The only ones that have worked also still have a huge local multiplayer/tournament presence, and other than new characters you don't get much new content that isn't cosmetic.
 

"As we expanded from PC to console, we saw consistent trends in how players were engaging with 2XKO," executive producer Tom Cannon wrote. "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."

"A few people are actually playing it. But our egos, investors' idiocy, or both made us develop this game that no one wanted, just like most of the industry is doing nowadays. We can't seem to stop making games that no one asked for, and then laying off the people that made them."
 
They should have launched League of Legends on consoles years before 2XKO.
People in the console space are not invested, don't even know what it is.
 
2XKO's current state feels more like an early access title than a full release. A cast of ten characters in a tag fighter is quite low before the wrinkle of f2p further reducing the pool of immediately available fighters. Mirror matches are common as are repeat matches since each character seems to have been designed for use with specific partners. Mirrors repel casuals since they are the most difficult matchup and repeats give off a feeling of stagnancy to vets. 2XKO should have released with at least double the cast. The menus and UI also amateur as they are flat and over designed.

2XKO is frustrating because it does do several things well. Unlimited access to characters offline and in training is a godsend for serious players. Setting up an offline doesn't require maintaining dlc packs across multiple accounts. Serious practice no longer requires buying a bunch of characters that you will never play. It's remarkably pro-gamer for a f2p title.

The gameplay itself is good if a little simple. I could see myself playing the game long term. As is, I have fun booting it up to mess around but I was afraid to commit because I can't help shaking the feeling that Riot sent 2XKO out to die. A massive layoff so early doesn't give me much hope.
 
https://www.riotgames.com/en/news/an-update-on-2xko

10+ years in development, told folks a few day ago they were going to rework the game to play differently than what was released because it didn't meet their vision, and now it looks like this is going to die ASAP.

What a colossal fuck up of Concord proportions. This game at one point was to be the "savior of the fighting game community."

They can't even fix screen tearing on console. I just gave them money this weekend on PSN and no way to get a refund.

I can't catch a fucking break. Every game I find fun is doomed.

Below is the post on their site for those who don't want to click link:

———————
Hey Everyone -

I wanted to take a moment to share an important update on 2XKO. This is a difficult update to share, but we want to be clear about what's changing and why.

What's changing and why

After a lot of discussion and reflection, we are reducing the size of the 2XKO team.

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.

With a smaller, focused team, we're going to dig in and make key improvements to the game, including some of the things we've already heard you asking for. We'll share some of our plans soon.

Our plans for the 2026 Competitive Series are unchanged. We remain committed to partnering with tournament organizers and local communities. Our focus will continue to be on supporting the events and organizers that already power the FGC.

Ultimately, this decision reflects a shift in how we operate. This isn't a judgment on individual Rioters or a signal that the journey is over. We're reshaping the team to give 2XKO a more sustainable path forward.

About the people behind the game

I want to be clear about something that matters deeply to me.

The people who helped ship 2XKO poured years of creativity, care, and belief into this game. Taking creative risks like this is hard, and the work they did is real and meaningful.

We're committed to supporting impacted Rioters through this transition - including helping them explore opportunities within Riot where possible, and providing a minimum of 6 months of notice pay and severance where it's not.

Going forward

I know this update will raise questions and concerns. That's understandable. We'll continue communicating about how things are progressing.

In the journey so far we've been humbled and dazzled by the energy and passion you've brought to the 2XKO community. That energy matters, and it will help fuel us into this next chapter as we improve the game.

Thank you for playing 2XKO, for caring enough to ask hard questions, and for being part of this community.

- Tom Cannon
 
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David_Android said:
never heard of it srry for your loss
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Tag team fighting game using the league of legends characters. Once called Project L. Created by serious fighting game community folks like Tom Cannon.

The game in its current state has bugs, but is very fun. It is NOT new player centric in my opinion and has some degenerate hard combos.

It also had egregious micro transactions.
 
LyricalShrike said:
The gameplay itself is good if a little simple.
Click to expand...
To me it's the opposite. I have no clue what they were thinking with modern controls and this engine. It's a very hard game to play, it's not casual friendly at all, and that seems to have been their goal.

New people coming into the fighting game genre are going to get wrecked playing this game. There is so much to keep track of. Which is why I'm having a great time with it. It's very creative and hard, which makes it fun. It's a tag fighter on some serious crack with all the shit you can do in it. It feels very mvc3 like with whatever you think of, you most likely can do.

Hopefully this game is not going to die, and it's just trimming the fat after release. There is so much potential here.
 
Arsic said:
10+ years in development,
Click to expand...
Arsic said:
They can't even fix screen tearing on console.
Click to expand...

So many of these games seem to hide behind using "live-service" as an excuse to have sky-high budgets and long-ass production cycles that would normally have been called dev-hell failures back in the day. The dream of Fortnite money limps these projects along past their "should've been canceled" date.

10+ years of development to come out with basic performance problems is a vision and management failure. Not all the devs should be fired, but the leaders definitely.
 
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Richard Packer said:
This is Evo Japan early bird numbers btw.
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SF6 is the only fighting game that matters in Asia at all it seems. USA is a different story granted it's still king here too.

Those 2XKO numbers are atrocious though.

The game really just doesn't cater to current fighting game players. SF is approachable but 2XKO feels rough even in pro players hands. WTF happened? Their goal was to be new player friendly and I'd argue it's as brutal as UMVC3 now lmao.
 
Richard Packer said:
To me it's the opposite. I have no clue what they were thinking with modern controls and this engine. It's a very hard game to play, it's not casual friendly at all, and that seems to have been their goal.

New people coming into the fighting game genre are going to get wrecked playing this game. There is so much to keep track of. Which is why I'm having a great time with it. It's very creative and hard, which makes it fun. It's a tag fighter on some serious crack with all the shit you can do in it. It feels very mvc3 like with whatever you think of, you most likely can do.

Hopefully this game is not going to die, and it's just trimming the fat after release. There is so much potential here.
Click to expand...

I think removing directional inputs is the dumbest way to try and make a game more casual friendly. Experienced players already have a solid grasp of fundamentals while being able to execute complex inputs with precision. Simple inputs increase the skill gap rather than bridge it. Autocombo systems are also silly since they don't teach new players why they are doing something. They will smash headfirst into the skill wall without the knowledge or mechanical experience needed to play at a higher level. Neither seems to help with player retention.

I also hope 2XKO makes it. I used to devour the weekly lore dumps put out by the team. I'm interested in games taking place in Runeterra moreso than playing league. A fighting game in the universe seemed like a match made in heaven.
 
Arsic said:
SF6 is the only fighting game that matters in Asia at all it seems. USA is a different story granted it's still king here too.

Those 2XKO numbers are atrocious though.

The game really just doesn't cater to current fighting game players. SF is approachable but 2XKO feels rough even in pro players hands. WTF happened? Their goal was to be new player friendly and I'd argue it's as brutal as UMVC3 now lmao.
Click to expand...

Japan is a bit of an outlier but you're mostly correct. Street Fighter and Tekken are popular across asia. They are the default games for finding a local in any city and well attended. Tekken is in a bit of a lull because of the state of Tekken 8. It used to draw significantly higher numbers at events during the 7 era. GGST is also reasonably popular. Smash is still probably the biggest in terms of numbers though.
 
2-on-2 tag fighters are a niche within the niche of fighting games. If you are dead-set on a tag fighter, it should be 3-on-3 like popular tiltes such as MvC3 and Dragon Ball FighterZ.

Also, what the FUCK is with that name? Horrible branding.
 
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No motion inputs, but having to remember when to partially charge a button and when not too in addition to some of the combo routes having some tight timing made sure this wasn't casual friendly.
Well beyond being able to do a special move or ultimate. That really was the only thing simplified about the game
 
Surprised Riot didn't just take the entire team off and tell them to start making a Deadlock clone.

Riot's entire history of success is just copying what Valve does and dumbing it down while adding a more generic mass appeal art style.
Won't be surprised when the MMO fails spectacularly too.
 
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