Riot is already cutting staff on its new fighting game

""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.""

"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."

2XKO launched in early access on PC in October and reached consoles several weeks later after years of development that began under the codename Project L in 2019. Riot Games expanded its portfolio beyond League of Legends with successes like Arcane and Valorant but also reduced initiatives, closing its indie publishing label in 2024 during layoffs affecting about 11 percent of staff. Console expansion revealed consistent engagement trends: a passionate core audience but insufficient overall momentum. About 80 staffers, less than half of 2XKO's team, will be laid off with internal placement help or six months' notice pay and severance. A smaller team will focus on prioritized improvements.

Read at The Verge