adminRiot Games is reducing the development team behind its free-to-play fighting game 2XKO, with about 80 employees affected. The company says the 2XKO layoffs reflect the game’s current audience and the need to operate with a team size it can sustain over the long term—not a decision to end the game’s development.
Image credit: Riot Games
Why Riot Games is reducing the 2XKO team
In a blog post, executive producer Tom Cannon said 2XKO had attracted a dedicated core audience, but its overall momentum had not reached the level needed to support a development team of its existing size indefinitely. Riot’s decision follows the company’s observations of player engagement as the game expanded from PC to consoles.
A Riot spokesperson said nearly half of 2XKO’s global development team was affected. The figure of about 80 workers gives an approximate scale of the cuts, while the company’s statement describes the impact across its international team.
Cannon framed the restructuring as a change in how the studio operates. He said it was not a judgment on the individual employees affected and did not mean that 2XKO’s development journey was over. Instead, Riot is reshaping the team to give the game a more sustainable path forward.
Practical context: A smaller development team can mean changes to staffing and production plans, but the announcement does not specify particular features, updates, or release plans that will change. Players should look to future official announcements for details about the game’s roadmap.
Support for affected employees
Riot said it would help impacted workers explore other opportunities within the company where possible. The company also said affected employees would receive at least six months of notice and severance pay.
These measures describe the support Riot announced; the statement does not provide individual employee arrangements or confirm how many people may move into other roles. For workers, the practical details will depend on their circumstances and any direct information provided by the company.
2XKO release and development timeline
2XKO entered early access on PC in October 2025. Its console release followed on January 20, 2026. The game has been in development since 2019, when Riot first announced the project under the codename Project L.
The move from PC to consoles gave Riot additional opportunities to observe how players engaged with the game across platforms. According to Cannon, those engagement trends informed the decision to adjust the size of the team.
What the 2XKO layoffs mean for the game
Riot’s announcement points to a team restructuring rather than a cancellation: the company says it intends to continue 2XKO with a more sustainable development setup. However, it has not provided specific details about future staffing levels or a revised content schedule.
For now, the key points are that about 80 employees are affected, nearly half of the global development team is impacted, and Riot has committed to offering internal opportunities where possible along with at least six months of notice and severance pay. The 2XKO layoffs are therefore a significant workforce change, while the game’s future plans remain to be clarified by Riot.
