Riot Games Reduces 2XKO Development Team Size Less Than a Month After Launch

February 10, 2026 — In a surprising and sobering update, Riot Games has announced it is significantly downsizing the development team behind 2XKO, its free-to-play 2v2 tag-team fighting game set in the League of Legends universe. The news comes less than a month after the game's full console launch.

Official Statement from Riot

On February 9, 2026, Tom Cannon, Executive Producer of 2XKO, published an official post titled "An Update on 2XKO" on the Riot Games website. In it, he wrote:

"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."

Cannon explained that while 2XKO has built a passionate core audience, player engagement and overall momentum during the expansion to consoles "hasn’t reached the level needed to support a team of this size long term."

Timeline of the Game's Launch

2XKO (previously known as Project L) officially launched its Season 1 on January 20-21, 2026, across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. This marked the full 1.0 release, following an early access period on PC in late 2025. The console debut was a major milestone for the title, bringing it to a broader audience after years of anticipation in the fighting game community (FGC).

Scale of the Downsizing

Riot confirmed through spokespeople that approximately 80 roles are being eliminated — roughly half of the global development team dedicated to 2XKO. Reports indicate some affected developers had been involved with the project (in various forms) for up to a decade.

The company has committed to supporting impacted employees, including:

Exploring internal opportunities at Riot where possible
Providing a minimum of 6 months of notice pay and severance for those who cannot be repositioned

Why Now? Riot's Perspective

According to the official update:

The game has "resonated with a passionate core audience."
However, player trends observed during the PC-to-console expansion showed insufficient long-term momentum to justify the original team size.

Riot emphasized that this is not the end for 2XKO. The plan is to continue development with a smaller, more focused team while delivering key player-requested improvements. Notably:

Plans for the 2026 Competitive Series remain unchanged.
Riot remains committed to tournament organizers and local FGC communities.

Community and Industry Reactions

The announcement has sparked widespread discussion across social media, Reddit, and gaming outlets. Many in the community expressed shock at the timing — coming just weeks after the high-profile console release — and raised concerns about the future pace of content updates, new champions, balance patches, and seasonal roadmaps with reduced staffing.

Others pointed out that post-launch team reductions are somewhat common in live-service games, especially when transitioning from heavy development to ongoing maintenance and operations. Still, the scale and speed of this move have drawn particular scrutiny, given 2XKO's long development history and Riot's position as one of gaming's biggest players.

What's Next for 2XKO?

Riot has promised to share more details on upcoming plans in the near future. For now, 2XKO remains fully playable and free-to-play on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, with active seasons, battle passes, and competitive events continuing.

This development highlights the harsh realities of the modern free-to-play and live-service market — even for industry giants like Riot Games — where rapid player retention and monetization success are critical to sustaining large-scale investments post-launch.

Stay tuned to the official 2XKO website and Riot's channels for further updates.

Sources: Official Riot Games announcement (February 9, 2026), GamesIndustry.biz, PC Gamer, IGN, VGC, Game Developer, and other industry reports.