According to Marc Merrill, the chief product officer of Riot Games, the fighting‑game project known as 2XKO would have required a massive monthly active user (MAU) base—"in the high hundreds of thousands, if not millions"—to be financially viable. In an interview on The Lemonade Stand podcast, which was highlighted by IGN, Merrill explained that although the title managed to strike a chord with a dedicated subset of gamers, the total pool of players was "not nearly enough" to underpin the live‑service infrastructure the studio had envisioned.
The development of 2XKO officially ceased in August, after the team determined that operating costs were "substantially more than the revenue it generated," and that player engagement had plateaued despite the release of sizable updates. Even though active development has stopped, the game remains accessible at no cost on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, with Riot committing to keep the servers online well beyond 2026. Merrill also pointed to external market factors that compounded the challenge, most notably the launch of Capcom's Street Fighter 6. He remarked that the timing was unfortunate: "We had a window to do some great things for the fighting‑game community, and then Street Fighter 6 arrived, which was about eight years after we began work on 2XKO." The arrival of such a heavyweight title siphoned attention and resources away from Riot's effort, making it even harder to attract the critical mass of players needed for a sustainable ecosystem.
Reflecting on the project's trajectory, Merrill praised the talent behind the game, saying, "We had an awesome development team of really talented people that did great work and made a beautiful game. We had already communicated all this to the community, and we thought, 'Let's keep going, let's give it to the community, let's see what happens.'" He added a note of regret, suggesting that an earlier release—ideally years before Street Fighter 6—could have allowed 2XKO to make a "really significant impact" on the competitive fighting‑game scene. The origins of 2XKO trace back to Riot's 2016 acquisition of Radiant Entertainment.
Radiant had previously launched a free‑to‑play fighting prototype called Rising Thunder in an alpha state in 2015. This title served as a primary source of inspiration for 2XKO. After the acquisition, Riot pulled Rising Thunder from commercial storefronts and eventually cancelled further development, later releasing the game's code as open source in 2017. Merrill explained that the vision for 2XKO was to blend the "simple controls and cool concept" of Rising Thunder's 1v1 combat with Riot's own intellectual property—specifically the characters known as the Cannon brothers—and to layer a "Riot‑style competitive ecosystem" on top.
However, the journey was not smooth. Leadership turnover within Riot led to strategic misalignment, creating what Merrill described as "managerial fracturing." The development team received mixed signals about the project's direction, which ultimately hindered cohesive execution. When asked about accountability, Merrill was candid: "We've got nobody to blame but ourselves." This admission underscores the internal challenges that compounded the external pressures of a competitive market. In summary, 2XKO's story is a case study in the high stakes of launching a live‑service fighting game in a crowded genre.
Even with a polished product, a talented team, and a clear design philosophy, the title fell short of the massive user base required to offset operational costs. The simultaneous release of a major franchise like Street Fighter 6 further diluted potential interest, while internal strategic discord prevented the team from pivoting effectively. Riot's commitment to keep the servers running through at least 2026 offers a silver lining for the existing community, allowing players to continue enjoying the game despite its halted development.
The experience also provides valuable lessons for future endeavors: securing a robust MAU foundation, aligning leadership vision, and timing releases to avoid direct competition with genre‑defining titles are all critical factors for success in the live‑service arena.