Fighting games are one of the most unique genres in video gaming. They are undoubtedly niche, but they are treated as if they are still mainstream. Everyone wants them to appeal to the general public, but at the same time, they get furious if they are not basically esports designed to have high-level competitions around them. And in this constant contradiction of having to be treated like sports, but wanting to reach the public, is where they exist: never managing to break out of the big titles that have already attracted an audience for decades.
Riot Games seems to want to be the one to break this idea. To create a fighting game that is not only competitive but also introduces new players to the genre. And for that, it has the necessary keys. Characters with whom we already have a prior relationship, a competitive structure, and the money to make the game treated as a sport from the start. But is that enough for 2XKO to succeed?
A game that has a long history
Until we reached where we are today, with the game being launched, many things had to happen. To begin with, it had to be announced. That happened in 2019 and it was done under the name of Project L. Riot did not want to provide more details about what was happening with the game, except that it was being developed by its studios in Los Angeles, Sydney, and San Francisco.
For years, that was all we knew. At least, until February 22, 2024, when we learned two new things: that it would be a 2 vs. 2 game, where we can switch between characters at any time, and that its name would be much more alluring in English than in any other language: 2XKO.
Since its announcement until today, many things have happened. To begin with, the game was launched in early access in a closed beta by invitation on October 7, 2025. Harvesting great success among casual and specialized audiences, it managed to become the buzz of fighting games for a few weeks. So much so that, by the end of the year, it was nominated for the Best Fighting Game category at The Games Awards 2025 despite not having been officially released. An award that was ultimately won by Tekken 8.
Now 2XKO is officially out for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S with a roster of 13 characters from famous characters of Runeterra, the universe of League of Legends, and the impressions are clear: there is potential for something big here.
The first reason is that Riot is behind it. They have money and they are going to use it, not by organizing the tournaments themselves, but by helping established tournament and competition organizers to create their own 2XKO competitions. This ensures that an organic competition for the game is created. Especially considering that Riot has already stated that it is not their intention to create a professional league for the game, as they did at one time with some of their other games, such as League of Legends.
The second reason is that it is a relatively accessible game. Although the tutorials are quite questionable, the assistance systems are excellent and allow for casual play in an easy and effective way. Since we add to that the fact that the game is free-to-play and has characters that are familiar to a wide audience, 2XKO has real potential to become a game that captivates many people outside of fighting games.
So, what problems do we find? It falls short in everything it wants to do. Its monetization is the classic Riot model, with costly cosmetics. The depth of the game is noticeably lower than that of other games on the market, raising the question of whether the ceiling will be too low to really interest professional fighting game players. And the jump from playing with assistance to playing without it is very harsh, and the tutorials do not help in this regard, not addressing the biggest concern that fighting games have: making players feel comfortable making the leap from novice to intermediate level.
Are these problems enough for 2XKO to fail? Only time will tell. Especially since they are conditional: we still don’t know how serious they are compared to how they appear on paper. What is clear is that, for now, it is a game with a potentially thriving competitive scene thanks to the money it will generate and a casual audience that can engage due to the ease of picking up the controller and feeling good playing with their favorite characters, even without knowing anything about fighting games. So, just for that reason, what is certain is that 2XKO will have a spectacular launch.
