
Riot Games Halts Active Development of 2XKO Fighting Game

By Sid Meier


By Sid Meier
Riot Games recently announced its decision to stop active development for 2XKO, its fighting game based on the League of Legends universe. The company plans to finalize remaining in-progress content and conclude active development by December of this year. This strategic shift follows a period of close monitoring and evaluation of the game's performance and player engagement.
In a statement released on its official website, Riot Games explained that despite an initial surge in players and a committed community, 2XKO did not achieve the necessary player retention to ensure its long-term sustainability. The game's trajectory revealed a consistent pattern where, even with substantial updates, the player base did not grow enough to offset operational costs, making continued active development unfeasible.
Riot's internal assessment focused on critical metrics such as revenue, player retention, new player acquisition, and overall engagement. The data consistently showed that 2XKO's operational expenses significantly outweighed its revenue, and engagement levels remained stagnant despite various attempts to revitalize the game with new content. This financial reality ultimately led to the decision to halt active development.
As part of this transition, Riot Games is discontinuing the sale of KO Points, 2XKO's premium currency, and is making all existing champions accessible to players. Furthermore, the company has committed to refunding all purchases made in 2XKO on or before August 20. PC players will receive refunds via their original payment methods, while PlayStation and Xbox users will be processed through their respective platforms.
Before active development concludes, 2XKO will see the introduction of two more champions: Lux, the Lady of Luminosity, arriving in September, and Samira, the Desert Rose, joining the roster in October. A final patch focused on bug fixes is also scheduled for December. Despite the end of active development, Riot Games confirmed that 2XKO servers will remain online, allowing players to continue enjoying the game on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.
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Pioneering game designer known for the "Civilization" series and his philosophy on game design.

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