Riot to Reduce Size of 2XKO Development Team Weeks After Launch - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 09 February 2026 / 2,343 Views
Riot Games announced it is reducing the size of the 2XKO development team as the game hasn't reached a player count needed to support the current team size in the long term.
The smaller team will be focused to "make key improvements to the game, including some of the things we’ve already heard you asking for."
Impacted team members will either be given other opportunities within Riot Games where possible or give a minimum of 6 months of notice pay and severance.
2XKO released in Early Access for PC on October 7, 2025, while the full release launched for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on January 20, 2026.
Read the announcement post below:
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
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.
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One reason for bad press/ word of mouth, is this game doesn't allow cross region play like most fighting games. As someone who lives in Japan, I can't play with my friend in the US for example. For some reason all other fighting games could easily achieve that, but not Riot Games apparently...
Been meaning to have a go and have heard decent things but kinda think this is expected. Main dev work is done, right? All you need to do now is maintain things and make new characters/skins.
Yet I feel it too long to release. It was first shown in 2019, went through some artistic changes and, in my view, has a terrible name and only 10 launch characters. So hype wasn't there.
Their own words
¨overall momentum hasn’t reached the level needed to support a team of this size long term.¨
So it is not expectation, but outcome of under performance.
There might be some reduction ¨normally¨ but this goes beyond that.
I follow the fgc quite closely and i had legit no idea it came out, it feels like i didn't see any marketing anywhere aside from trailers sometimes
