Riot is already cutting staff on its new fighting game

Riot Games is already “reducing the size” of the team working on its recently-released free-to-play fighting game 2XKO, according to a post from executive producer Tom Cannon. The game, set in the League of Legends universe, launched in early access on PC in October and hit consoles just a few weeks ago.

2XKO has been in development for years, with Riot first announcing the project under the codename Project L in 2019 as part of broader plans to expand the company’s lineup beyond League of Legends. While some of Riot’s expansion ideas have worked out, including Netflix’s animated series Arcane and the tactical shooter that would eventually become Valorant, the company also shut down its indie publishing label in 2024 as part of layoffs affecting around 11 percent of its staff to focus more on its “core live games.” The changes for 2XKO also reflect an increasingly competitive market for live service games that has even proved difficult for Sony to overcome.

“As we expanded from PC to console, we saw consistent trends in how players were engaging with 2XKO,” Cannon says in the post. “The game has resonated with a passionate core audience, but overall momentum hasn’t reached the level needed to support a team of this size long term.” The smaller team will “dig in and make key improvements to the game, including some of the things we’ve already heard you asking for.”

The cuts “affect roughly 80 roles globally, representing less than half of the total team,” Riot spokesperson Brian Chui tells The Verge. Affected staffers will be given assistance finding new jobs internally at Riot and, where that’s not possible, 6 months of notice pay and severance, Cannon says.

“Ultimately, this decision reflects a shift in how we operate,” according to Cannon. “This isn’t a judgment on individual Rioters or a signal that the journey is over. We’re reshaping the team to give 2XKO a more sustainable path forward.”

Update, February 9th: Added details from a Riot spokesperson about the cuts.