Riot Games enters fighting game fray with 2XKO

Riot Games’ booth allowed attendees at the Tokyo Game Show 2025 to play the demo of its upcoming fighting game, 2XKO.

Riot Games

MANILA, Philippines — At the heart of Tokyo Game Show 2025, Riot Games debuted 2XKO, its upcoming tag-team fighting game set in the League of Legends universe.

What began as a mysterious project known only as “Project L” has evolved into a bold new entry in the fighting game genre — a game that blends the developer's multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) legacy with the competitive spirit of traditional fighters.

2XKO Game Director Shaun Rivera spoke to PhilStar.com and shared the journey to developing the game, the challenges of innovation, and the vision behind its unique gameplay.

‘Duo play’ mechanic

“The story's been a long one,” Rivera recalled. “I think Tom and Tony Cannon founded EVO, the World Fighting Game Tournament. They went on to found Radiant Entertainment, which is a company where they made Rising Thunder. It was like a 1v1 fighting game with robots, it was really cool. And then Riot Games acquired Radiant Entertainment. From there, it was like, ‘let's make a League of Legends fighting game, Codenamed Project L’,” recalled Rivera.

And though feedback from early playtests showed that players were reacting well to the game, the team felt like there was something missing — it didn't have as much of an impact they had hoped for.

“[When] we playtested the game though, players were just like, ‘yeah that's pretty fun, it's not bad.’ You never want to hear that. You want to make a game that everybody's fired up about, and has a big impact,” added Rivera.

That realization led to a major pivot in design philosophy, not only bringing in the intensity and thrill of fighting games but also introducing something new. It was a game wherein you can take the traditional 1v1 of fighting games and incorporate what video games is all about — the enjoyment of playing with friends and fellow gaming enthusiasts.

Rivera explained, “Playing with your friends is super fun. So we thought, what if we made a fighting game where you could play with your friends, right? On the same team, and the game was built like that from the ground up. Not just like an extra mode.”

Keeping with its League of Legends inspiration, 2XKO incorporates the teamwork that players in MOBA has as the heart of the game.

“In the MOBA, you see champions fighting together all the time. It's so cool how you can like, you know, put their skills together and do well in a team fight. So we thought, wouldn't that be really sweet if we could do that in a fighting game?” said Rivera.

The result was 2XKO's duo play, a system that allows two players to fight on the same team.

“It was really challenging because we made duoplay, we made that change, kind of like starting over maybe about five years ago. But what if you can't come tomorrow night? Does that mean I don't get to play? Does that mean I have to fight a stranger? So of course we had to introduce solo play,” recalled Rivera.

But as the central piece of 2XKO was developing, it still had its fair share of challenges.

“If the control schemes aren't similar enough, it's really hard to bridge that gap. So we had to do a lot of work making the control schemes similar as well. Looking at the players, how much should the person off screen be able to do in a duo? Some people want to do all kinds of stuff. Some people are like, just give me a break for a second, let me take a breather. So finding that balance is also pretty challenging,” said Rivera.

Eventually, the team found its rhythm, allowing for different scenarios to stem from duoplay. But at the heart of it was keeping 2XKO within the fighting game genre that players enjoy.

“First and foremost, we're making this game for fighting game players. That's our target, you know. If you love fighting games, we want you to try and, you know, really like to check out our game and enjoy it.”

Rivera also emphasized the social aspect of the game.

“If you've ever had to teach someone a fighting game, it's really tough. Because either you're easily beating them and hoping they stick around through those beatings, or you're going easy on them, but you're not having a good time, you know, hoping that they'll learn and stick around. Neither of those are very good. So we thought, what if instead you could just bring your friend on, even if there's a skill difference. You could take on the world together. Even if you lose, there's cool moments in between, right? It's less about winning and losing, more about these cool things we did together, like the combo we finished, or you broke out of the combo and saved me. Even if you lose, it's about the cool things you did together. That's what makes it special. Those moments and highlights you'll cherish as a duo,” said Rivera.

League characters in a different light

With early access launching this October, fans are eager to see which champions will join the current nine character roster that was in the closed beta.

“There'll be no code needed and that's when we're going to announce our 10th champion. We need to make sure that the champion that we pick, there's enough diversity with respect to thematics. And that can be how they look, how they act, what they say, their attitude, their taunts, you name it. Also, to how they fight. What do they look like when they fight? But also, what are the mechanics? What type of playstyle is it?” revealed Rivera.

With so many champions in League of Legends, choosing which character comes next to 2XKO has been a well-thought out task for the team, especially as it is not just about the popularity of the champion but also how they interact in 2XKO while staying true to their origins.

“There are some things a person might like from a champion in the MOBA. Maybe an attack they use or maybe a voice line or how they move. But a lot of times those skills in the MOBA are designed for the MOBA. We don't desire a lot of CC in our game where characters are just getting stunned left and right and can't really move. So we have to be really careful in picking and choosing how we incorporate those aspects of a character in 2XKO while still making it feel true to that champion but also elevating it,” shared Rivera.

An example would be Blitzcrank, a champion already available in the closed-beta, and how the champion has evolved from what players are accustomed to in League of Legends.

"Blitzcrank has the rocket grab to pull you in, but also wouldn't it be cool if Blitzcrank could grab the ceiling and swing like a wrecking ball? Or Blitzcrank can spin their arm and build steam because they're a steam golem. And then you see the steam coming out and the electricity building up. Now all of a sudden their next attack is charged,” Rivera said, referring to how they incorporated the champions skills from MOBA differently in the fighting game.

Looking to the future of 2XKO

As for esports, Rivera acknowledged the concerns of the fighting game community.

“There was a little bit of a fear for the fighting game community when they heard that Riot Games was making a fighting game, they thought the fighting game community had built this from the ground up. It's really the humans, the tournament organizers, the people running the events, the locals that have carried it this far on their backs. It would be a disservice to do anything that could harm that because that's special,” said Rivera.

The answer is 2XKO's First Impact Program.

“We just announced for our early access the first impact program which is 22 tournaments for the rest of this year. We're adding a pot bonus to it. If you win as a duo player, a duo team, you get a little additional bonus as well,” shared Rivera.

With 2XKO's early access this month, the game's participation in the 2025 Tokyo Game has been a highlight for the team.

“This is definitely a huge event for us. It's the first time Riot Games has ever been at Tokyo Game Show. The history of fighting games starts in Japan. Paying respect to that history is something we're super stoked to be able to do. To be able to do it here at Tokyo Game Show, it's insane how big this is. You can feel the love, and us being able to share just a small part of what we're doing with people that love video games in general, especially fighting game players, has been unbelievable,” shared Rivera.

2XKO's early access is now available on PC via the game's official website. The game will also be released on consoles in the near future.