Riot Games has decided to downsize the development team for "2XKO," a two-player cooperative fighting game based on League of Legends (LoL) that launched last month, after the game underperformed. About 80 employees were affected by the restructuring, amounting to roughly half of the development team.
Tom Cannon, executive producer of 2XKO, said on Riot Games' official website on the 9th (local time), "After much discussion and deliberation, we have decided to reduce the size of the 2XKO team." Cannon said, "The game has received a positive response from a passionate core audience, but overall growth has not been sufficient to sustain the team's current size in the long term," adding, "With a smaller, more focused organization, we will concentrate on refining the game's key improvements."
He added, "Plans for the tournament '2026 Competitive Series' remain unchanged."
According to overseas gaming media, Riot Games said that about 80 employees became subject to layoffs due to the downsizing of the "2XKO" development team, roughly half of the team. Riot Games said it will help affected employees find other opportunities where possible, and if not, will provide at least six months of severance notice pay and severance.
2XKO is a game in which various champions from LoL appear and engage in 2-on-2 tag-style fighting. It began early access service in Oct. last year and officially launched service on the 21st of last month.