Riot Games downsizes 2XKO team; ~80 roles cut

• Approximately 80 employees on Riot Games' 2XKO team have been affected by the downsizing.
• Riot says 2XKO "hasn't reached the level needed to support a team of this size long term," according to the executive producer.
• The move scales back resources on the free-to-play fighting title and may slow development and live-service support.
• Riot frames the change as a right-sizing to match the project's current commercial and engagement level.

What happened

Riot Games has significantly downsized the team working on 2XKO, its free-to-play fighting title, impacting roughly 80 employees. The company made the change after assessing the game's current scale and the resources needed to support it long term.

Why Riot says it happened

In a brief explanation shared by the studio, Riot's executive producer said 2XKO "hasn't reached the level needed to support a team of this size long term." That statement frames the move as a response to the title's commercial and engagement realities rather than a reflection of the team's work.

What this means for 2XKO and players

Right-sizing a development team typically trims active development capacity and can delay planned features, content cadence, or live-ops initiatives. Riot's decision suggests the studio is scaling efforts to match current player numbers and revenue for 2XKO.

For players, the immediate impact could include slower feature rollouts, reduced updates, or a shift toward maintenance and bug fixes rather than ambitious new content. Riot has not shared details on timelines, which makes the exact impact unclear.

Broader context and implications

While Riot has built major franchises with long-term live-service support, not every experimental or new IP reaches the scale needed to sustain large development teams. Downsizing projects is a way companies preserve resources for higher-priority titles or future experiments.

Affected employees will likely be part of internal reassignments, severance, or external job searches, though Riot's specific support measures were not disclosed in the statement. The studio's comment focused on aligning team size with the game's current needs.

What to watch next

Look for official Riot updates clarifying 2XKO's roadmap, current live-service commitments, and any support offered to impacted staff. Community channels and Riot's corporate communications are the most likely places for further information.

As with any studio adjustment, the longer-term outcome will depend on whether 2XKO can grow its player base and revenue to justify expanded resources in the future.