Riot lays off 2XKO developers less than three weeks after release: 'Overall momentum hasn't reached the level needed to support a team of this size'

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Roughly 80 employees are being let go as Riot's long-awaited fighting game fails to catch fire.

Yasuo from 2XKO
(Image credit: Riot Games)

Just a few weeks after the official launch of its 2v2 fighting game 2XKO, Riot Games is reducing the size of its development team by nearly half and laying off employees.

"As we expanded from PC to console, we saw consistent trends in how players were engaging with 2XKO," executive producer Tom Cannon wrote in today's announcement. "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.

Andy Chalk
Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

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