Riot abandons LoL fighting game
The future of the League of Legends fighting game, 2XKO, is undergoing a major, structural overhaul. Riot Games has confirmed that active development on the title will conclude in less than a year, marking a shift away from long-term live-service support and towards a revised, streamlined experience for the community.
This decision stems from data showing that the game failed to achieve the player retention necessary to sustain long-term development. Despite major content drops and competitive events throughout 2026, engagement remained flat, signaling that the player base never reached the minimum threshold required for sustainable live-service operation.
While this news might seem like a letdown for dedicated players, the transition involves significant changes designed to refocus the game. Riot is simplifying progression and monetization dramatically. Moving forward, all champions will be unlocked for every player, and cosmetic items will be bundled into a new Ultimate Bundle, streamlining the reward structure.
The system will also be radically simplified. Features such as Battle Passes, KO Points, seasonal events, and the Ranked mode are being removed entirely. Matchmaking will shift focus entirely to skill-based Casual lobbies, emphasizing pure competitive play over seasonal progression.
To further integrate all players, items like avatars, chromas, and stages will become earnable through Credits, allowing players to build their identity within the game through in-game economy rather than external progression.
The game’s infrastructure will remain operational beyond the end of active development. Riot plans to conclude its remaining work-in-progress content this year, including the introduction of two new champions, Lux in September and Samira in October 2026, followed by a final bug-fix patch in December.
Competitive support will continue through 2026, culminating in a final Competitive Series event in November. Following this, while community organizers will still be able to run online and offline events under Riot’s guidelines, official support and significant prize pools will cease.
Furthermore, Riot is ensuring fairness regarding player investments. All money spent on the game before August 20 will be refunded, with the process for sorting these refunds completed by November.
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