Riot Games Ends 2XKO Development at End of 2026
The decision follows a February 2026 reduction in the development team's size, when Riot Games already noted that momentum was not sufficient to sustain the team long-term, making the shutdown a confirmation of that earlier warning.
Key Facts
- Riot Games announced on August 21, 2026 that active development of 2XKO will end at the end of 2026.
- 2XKO is available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, and servers will continue to operate after development ends.
- The September 8 patch will add the champion Lux, and the October patch will add Samira as the final new champion.
- Refunds will be issued for in-game purchases made before August 20, and new purchases of KO Points have been suspended.
- The 2026 2XKO Competitive Series schedule remains unchanged, with the final official event planned for November.
Reporting from 3 sources: Automaton, Denfaminicogamer, Game Spark.
Riot Games announced on August 21 that active development of the free-to-play fighting game 2XKO will end at the end of 2026. The online servers will continue to operate, and the game will remain playable on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. Offline play will be unaffected. The company cited that operational costs far exceed revenue and that player engagement remained flat even after major updates. Despite positive feedback from players, retention did not reach a sustainable level. Throughout 2026, Riot Games evaluated revenue, new player numbers, retention, and engagement, and introduced new champions, the PvE mode 'The Climb,' and competitive events, but these did not change the game's trajectory. The company considered reducing team size, decreasing update frequency, and changing the business model before deciding to complete current content and end active development. Updates will continue until the end of 2026. The September 8 patch will add Lux, and the October patch will add Samira as the final new champion. A final bug-fix patch is planned for December. All champions will be unlocked, and refunds will be issued for in-game purchases made before August 20. The 2026 Competitive Series schedule remains unchanged, with the final official event in November.
- Patch 1.3.1 on September 8 adds "Lux, the Lady of Luminosity."
- Patch 1.3.3 in October adds "Samira, the Desert Rose" as the final new champion and the last major content update.
- Patch 1.3.5 in December is a bug-fix patch released as needed.
- Systems tied to the online service, including the battle pass, KO Points, champion tokens, seasons, and events, will be discontinued to keep the servers running long-term.
- Ranked matches will be removed, with matchmaking folded into casual lobbies that keep skill-based matching; private lobbies remain.
- On PC, refunds cover KO Points and the "2XKO Starter Edition" back to the original payment method; PS5 and Xbox Series X|S refunds go through each platform.
- Japanese and Korean server KO Point refunds follow local laws, with procedures announced later or sent individually.
- Content players already own stays accessible.
- The 2026 Competitive Series ends with its final official event in November; from 2027, community tournaments can run online and offline per guidelines.
- Riot Games said it will apply lessons from 2XKO to future research and development while exploring new genres.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 3 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.