Evo 2026's near-final registration leaderboard has Street Fighter 6 leading, Tekken 8 in second, 2XKO in third, and Rivals of Aether 2 making a surprising jump to fourth as signups close tonight; final numbers will shape the Las Vegas event (June 26–28).
Combo Breaker 2026 has banned 2XKO’s Teamfight Fuse, a duo-mode feature that lets two characters be active simultaneously but changes attack behavior to mids and disables unblockables; organizers say it disrupts Duo vs Single dynamics and will not be usable at CB2026 (May 22–24, 2026), despite some players advocating for keeping it legal.
Red Bull Knockout 2XKO in Paris was a one-day, €20,000 prize-pool fighting-game tournament. The Japanese duo Zeta|Haru and Zeta|Toshi won the main event, defeating FLY|SonicFox and SR|Inzem in the finals (3–1); USA and France teams also reached the semi-finals, with Last Chance Qualifier winners Wade and Noka earning a spot in the main draw. The prize distribution awarded €6,500 to the winning duo, with smaller shares for 2nd (€3,500), 3rd (€2,500 each), and lower placements. The event was streamed on Red Bull.
Weekend Warmup covers Akali joining 2XKO and the vibrant community reaction, while Patch 1.1.5 shifts focus from sweeping champion changes to core rules and quality-of-life updates. The balance team stresses a cautious, data-driven approach, prioritizing stability and only adjusting a few moves, with Fuse ideas still under consideration. Upcoming events (Spirit Blossom and LVL UP EXPO) and roadmap hints, including a sixth champion and more hype content, frame the broader timeline.
Riot Games is ramping up 2XKO content for 2026, confirming a sixth champion and a new Fuse, plus a duo-matching feature and more stages/skins. While fans welcome more content, the long development timeline and past layoffs raise concerns about the game's long-term viability, though the team and community remain hopeful that progress may outpace expectations.
2XKO’s patch lifecycle unfolds from months of high‑level planning in dev-main to a six‑week branch cut for stabilization, a three‑week Zero Bug Day that triages bugs for fixes versus work‑arounds, and a patch day rollout coordinated by a cross‑team “war room.” After launch, fixes may be server‑side or client‑side, with ongoing juggling of multiple patches and a push to support IRL communities and NXKO events, plus tease of Akali patch 1.1.5 and upcoming dates.
Riot's 2XKO confirms Akali and Senna as upcoming fighters for its first year, with Akali arriving in Season 1 and Senna in Season 2, while the team discusses a future-focused roadmap that includes a Local Duo Mode, ongoing balance adjustments to keep a fast-paced, high-skill experience, and new local tournament prizes. Despite layoffs at 2XKO's development team, the director emphasizes continued updates, console improvements, and a commitment to community and competitive programs as other champions are teased for 2026.
Riot Games is downsizing the 2XKO development team by about 80 employees because the free-to-play fighting game hasn’t reached a level to sustain a team of that size long term, with Riot noting that almost half of the global development staff are affected. The company will assist impacted workers in finding opportunities within Riot and will provide at least six months of notice plus severance pay. 2XKO launched in early access for PC in October 2025 and is scheduled for a January 20, 2026 console release; development began in 2019 under the codename Project L.
Riot Games is laying off about 80 employees—roughly half of 2XKO's global development team—after saying momentum hasn't reached the level needed; the company will try to reassign affected staff within Riot, and the 2026 competitive season remains unchanged.
Riot's 2XKO director Shaun Rivera says players are taking champions and core systems beyond their intended limits, prompting plans for big swings to speed up action, make interactions more intuitive, and improve the duos experience and competitive scene, while also addressing bugs and continued updates as the game evolves.
2XKO’s 2026 plan, explained by Shaun, centers on expanding duo play, toning down overly sharp core systems for faster, more intuitive action, and investing in community and competitive scenes. The update also covers ongoing bug tracking, and the Frosty Faustings XVIII Major as the first big tournament of the year, with co-streaming options and promotional drops (Twitch, TikTok, Chipotle bundle) and key dates highlighted.
Riot Games’ free-to-play League of Legends fighter 2XKO launched on PS5, Xbox Series, and PC, but PS5 players report severe performance issues (screen tearing, FPS drops, crashes, and lobby lag); PC and Xbox versions appear smoother, with speculation that the PS5’s 120Hz/v-sync setup might be to blame. Console reviews aren’t yet available.
2XKO, the League of Legends–based fighting game, arrives on PS5 as a free-to-play title with cosmetic monetization, a ~6.8GB install, and solid online netcode following its PC early access run.
Riot Games announced the exact timing for 2XKO Season 1: PC and consoles go live around 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on Jan 20, 2026, with a lengthy maintenance window from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT that day. If you’ve logged in before, you can still play offline during the outage. Caitlyn joins Season 1’s roster, and Riot plans five seasons in 2026 with one new fighter roughly every two months, aiming for 16 champions by year’s end. The existing roster includes Ahri, Blitzcrank, Braum, Darius, Ekko, Illaoi, Jinx, Teemo, Vi, Warwick, and Yasuo; some champs are free in online modes while others require purchase, and offline trials remain available.
Season 1 patch for 2XKO launches tomorrow on Xbox Series and PS5, delivering broad balance changes to all 11 fighters (Ahri, Blitzcrank, Braum, Darius, Ekko, Illaoi, Jinx, Teemo, Vi, Warwick, Yasuo), tweaks to projectiles, movement, and assists, plus bug fixes, all while preserving cross-platform progression.