2XKO Development Ending as Riot Struggles to Find a Sustainable Audience

Riot Games has confirmed that active development on 2XKO will end in December, bringing the live-service ambitions of its League of Legends fighting game to an early close.

According to Riot, plenty of players tried 2XKO, but not enough continued playing to put the game on a sustainable path. The company says it assessed revenue, retention, new player numbers and engagement throughout the year, with even larger content updates failing to produce meaningful long-term growth.

Riot was unusually direct about the financial reality, explaining that the game currently costs “substantially more to operate than it brings in”. After considering options including a smaller team, different update schedules, and changes to its business model, the company decided to finish work already in progress and end active development.

Lux and Samira Will Be Final New Champions

The shutdown will not happen immediately. Lux arrives with Patch 1.3.1 on September 8, followed by Samira in October. Riot says Samira will be the final champion added to the game, with October’s Patch 1.3.3 serving as its last major content update.

A December patch may follow if required, but it will be focused primarily on bug fixes rather than introducing major new content. Several live-service systems are also disappearing in September. Battle Passes, seasons, events, Champion Tokens, and KO Points will be removed, and Ranked lobbies will be disabled so the remaining online population can be consolidated into Casual matchmaking. All champions will also become available to every player.

Riot Is Refunding Money

Players who spent money on 2XKO on or before August 20 will receive refunds. On PC, Riot will refund KO Points and Starter Edition purchases to their original payment methods, while PlayStation and Xbox refunds will be handled through their respective platforms. Players will retain any content they already own.

Riot is also introducing a US$39.99 Ultimate Bundle containing most existing cosmetics, with additional content added after Samira launches.

The game’s Competitive Series will continue through November, although Riot support for official events will end after 2026.

2XKO Servers Will Stay Online

Despite active development ending, 2XKO itself is not shutting down. Riot says servers will remain online beyond 2026 across PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, with online and offline play continuing. The company has not provided an eventual shutdown date and says players will receive advance notice if that changes.

It is a disappointing conclusion for a project that combined Riot’s biggest universe with an ambitious free-to-play tag fighter. However, Riot insists the experience has not discouraged it from experimenting with other genres.

For 2XKO, though, Samira’s October arrival will effectively mark the final major addition before development ends.