The Riot Games will end active development of 2XKO at the end of 2026 after concluding that the fighting game failed to retain players at a level sufficient to sustain its operation. The decision was announced by the company on Thursday (20), along with a plan to keep the servers running, release characters, and refund purchases made up to the date of the announcement.
The company will still release updates until December, including Lux and Samira as the last two new champions. After that, the title will continue to be available for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, but without new regular development cycles.
In summary
- Riot says retention and engagement fell below what was needed to make 2XKO sustainable.
- Samira will arrive in October in the last major content patch.
- Servers will remain active after 2026 and purchases made before August 20 will be refunded.
Riot says the cost of 2XKO exceeds revenue
The decision came after Riot tracked indicators such as revenue, retention, new player acquisition, and engagement throughout 2026. Even after character releases, PvE content, and competitive events, the company says the updates did not produce a sustained change in the game's trajectory.
According to the company, 2XKO found traction among groups in the fighting game community, especially players of tag-style titles, but failed to retain a sufficient portion of the rest of the audience.
The free-to-play model also increased dependence on a larger active player base. Riot's strategy was to lower the barrier to entry in the genre and, over time, expand the audience from the most dedicated players.
In practice, the expected scale was not achieved. The company said that the cost to operate 2XKO is substantially higher than the revenue generated by the game, while the level of engagement remained relatively stable even after major updates.
Riot considered alternatives such as reducing the team, spacing out patches, and changing the business model. The conclusion was to finish the content already in production and stop active development.
Ranked and seasons will be removed in September
Before the shutdown, 2XKO will undergo significant changes. Patch 1.3.1, scheduled for September 8, will add Lux and unlock all champions for players.
The update will also remove systems designed for a continuously operated game, including Battle Passes, KO Points, Champion Tokens, seasons, and events. Ranked mode will be disabled, concentrating matchmaking in Casual rooms, which will continue to use skill criteria.
Private rooms will remain available. Riot also plans to add voice chat and expand these spaces to up to 40 players.
In October, patch 1.3.3 will add Samira, the last champion planned for 2XKO, along with the remaining cosmetics. Riot has already described this update as the game's last major content patch.
A possible update 1.3.5 may be released in December exclusively for bug fixes, with no significant additional content.
Riot will refund purchases
The company has also started the process of returning money spent on the game. Purchases made up to August 20 will be refunded, including KO Points and the 2XKO Starter Edition.
On PC, the expectation is that most payments will be returned in the first weeks of the process, with completion expected by November. On consoles, refunds will be processed by the respective platforms and payment providers.
The purchase of new KO Points has already been disabled. In September, Riot will also release a bundle with most of the game's cosmetics for US$ 39.99 in the United States, while other items may be unlocked with credits earned within the game itself.
Servers will continue to operate after 2026
The end of active development will not mean the immediate shutdown of 2XKO. Riot says the servers will remain online after 2026 and that the game will continue to be available for free on current platforms.
The offline mode will also not be affected. If plans for the servers change later, the company says it will notify players in advance.
The competitive circuit will continue normally until the end of this year, including prizes for the Major and Challenger events. The last official competition of the 2XKO Competitive Series is scheduled for November. After that, independent organizers will still be able to host tournaments following Riot's community rules.
The company said it will continue exploring new genres, but indicated that, after finishing the remaining work on 2XKO, the team will return to research and development activities before another attempt outside its traditional formats.
