Riot Games studio, which gave the world League of Legends and VALORANT tactical shooter, suddenly announced the dismissal of some of its staff. The distribution included specialists who worked on the new 2XKO fighting game. It’s sad, but it’s a fact. The publisher announced this on February 9, explaining the decision to focus on the quality of the product and its competitive component.
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The reasons for the dismissals at Riot Games and the future of the 2XKO fighting game
The pace of development of the fighting game simply did not meet the expectations of the management — this was explicitly stated in the official blog. Riot Games recognized that the current size of the team simply does not deliver the required update rate, and decided, in general, to reduce staff. The corporation has not yet confirmed the exact number of people who will leave their places. By the way, this decision looks like an attempt to rebuild the processes, not as an admission of failure.
A soft landing was provided for the dismissed — they were promised compensation in the amount of a six-month salary and help with finding vacancies inside Riot Games itself. Tom Cannon, executive producer of 2XKO, emphasized: “This is not a verdict for the game, but a choice for a more sustainable development path.”
Impact of Cuts at Riot on Esports Plans 2026
Despite the personnel purges, the esports ambitions of the 2XKO project will not suffer in the process. The developer plans to continue investing in tournaments, and the plans for 2026 remain in force, according to the management. The publisher will continue to work closely with event organizers and local communities to consolidate its position as a novelty in the fighting game genre. The project was released on January 20, 2026, and characters from the League of Legends universe were immediately integrated into it.
It is worth considering that Riot is not alone in their passion for “optimization” — the esports industry has been storming for a year now. By the way, in October, the ESL FACEIT Group also made cuts, trying to find the same “sustainable growth”. And in September 2025, the 100 Thieves organization came under fire. Their layoffs coincided with Nadeshot’s gambling streams — the fans, frankly, were furious at the timing. The situation in the industry is tense right now, to put it mildly.
2XKO 2026 Roadmap: Test schedules and release stages
Riot Games, by the way, continues to keep League fans in wild suspense by rolling out fresh details about 2XKO, the very team fighting game where familiar characters will clean each other’s faces. The publisher recently revised the schedule to, in fact, digest tons of feedback and finish the mechanics to perfection. Now the whole focus has shifted to the beginning of the year: alpha, beta registration and the final exit window — let’s figure out when it’s time to update the drivers and how, in fact, to get among the favorites.
2XKO Alpha Test schedule in February 2026
The first serious batch, the 2XKO alpha test— is officially scheduled for February 2026, and the dates are already known: from the 10th to the 17th. This will be a closed stage, purely for their own, where Riot plans to roll out new modes and adjust the balance, which, apparently, has slightly swum after the beta in September 2025. Only PC owners will be given access, as the main goal now is to lick the network code and polish the combo systems to a shine. Mistakes and crashes are common here, to tell the truth, but it’s your nagging in the chat that can change the final build of the game.
In order not to fly by, I advise you to visit the official website more often. 2xko.com and to monitor their Discord — invites are usually scattered among the most active fans and test veterans LoL. Remember August 2024: then alpha devoured 10,000 slots in a matter of hours, so, in short, update your Riot profile right now, before it starts. And here we are smoothly approaching the most massive stage, where there will be more chances.
How to register for the 2XKO Beta test in March
The big beta will open its doors in April 2026, and it will be possible to apply as early as March 15 — and this, by the way, is a full-fledged public phase for all regions, including Russia. The algorithm is simple: register on 2xko.com/beta log in with your Riot ID and fill out the questionnaire honestly. Keep in mind that you don’t need the deadest hardware — at least RTX 2060 and 16 GB of RAM, otherwise the fighting game will turn into a slideshow. Riot, along the way, will primarily call those who have hundreds of hours in LoL, so your experience in the gorge will finally benefit.
There is a life hack: be sure to subscribe to the mailing list and do not ignore the streams of official partners on Twitch — they often give out keys there. Last year, to be honest, the coveted accesses ended in a week, so registering on the first day is not a whim, but a vital necessity. But even if it doesn’t work out with beta, the final point on the horizon is already visible.
2XKO Release date: when will the official release take place
The full release of 2XKO is scheduled for the third quarter of 2026, which is the period from July 1 to September 30, with insiders whispering about August. If the beta does not reveal any critical crossplay issues between PC, PS5 and Xbox, there should be no delays. By the way, the game will be completely free (free-to-play), and Riot plans to earn money on skins and combat passes — a classic, in general.
The latest patches should be rolled out about a month before the official launch, so keep a close eye on the roadmap on the site to figure out your account upgrade plan in advance. And for those who do not want to wait for the “release whistle”, there is another way to experience the game before everyone else.
2XKO open tests in May: access without keys and invitations
The final rehearsal — public tests — will start in May 2026, namely on May 15-17. This is no longer the same raw alpha with bugs, but an almost finished product that is being rolled out to the crowd: they promise a 64-player lobby and new arenas. Download the client through Riot Launcher, log in under your account, and go ahead, you don’t need any keys. In fact, the developers just want to check if the servers will collapse from peak load before the big launch.
Finally, a little advice: if you are going to play on foreign servers, it is better to set up a VPN like Bonsai in advance to stabilize the ping. Last time, the queues at the entrance reached 50,000 people — a sight, frankly, not for the faint of heart. It seems Riot is serious about taking over the fighting game genre, and these tests will be a decisive battle for the loyalty of the community.
