Riot Games has officially announced that their long-awaited League of Legends fighting game 2XKO will launch with just 10 playable characters, a decision that has caught the attention of fighting game enthusiasts.
The 2v2 tag fighter, which allows players to select and switch between two characters during matches, has been in development for about nine years.
Despite having access to League of Legends’ massive champion pool of over 170 characters, Riot has opted for a much more focused initial roster. This stark contrast between the source material’s depth and the fighting game’s limited selection has led to conversations within the community about whether the game will offer enough variety at launch.
The development journey of 2XKO, previously known by its codename “Project L” has had its challenges. According to reports, the game has undergone several internal reboots and significant design changes, evolving from a traditional 1v1 fighter to its current 2v2 tag team format.
These transformations partly explain the extended development timeline stretching back to around 2016, when Riot acquired the studio behind the fighting game Rising Thunder.
The community response has been mixed, with many players expressing disappointment at the limited roster. As one commenter noted: “10 for a tag fighter from an AAA company seems insanely low.”
The concern is amplified by the tag team nature of the game, which effectively means players will only have 45 possible character combinations to choose from at launch.
Riot has confirmed that 2XKO will follow their familiar free-to-play model, suggesting that new characters will be released regularly post-launch. This approach mirrors their strategy with other successful titles like Valorant, which launched with a modest agent count that has steadily grown over time.
