Riot Games SHOCK: Beloved Game Team Decimated – What Happens NOW?!

Well, folks, it seems the fighting game arena is about to get a little less crowded, at least on Riot Games' side. The company just announced it's laying off around 80 employees from the team working on 2XKO, their League of Legends-themed fighter. It's always rough to hear about job losses in the industry, especially when it's a project people have clearly poured their hearts into.

Riot Games SHOCK: Beloved Game Team Decimated – Wh...

The official word from Riot is that the game, while finding a dedicated fanbase, just hasn't hit the numbers they were hoping for. "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 statement read. It’s a pretty standard corporate line, but it doesn't make the news any easier for those affected.

Now, 2XKO has been a long time coming. Riot scooped up Radiant Entertainment, the studio founded by the Cannon brothers (Tom and Tony, legends in the fighting game community), way back in 2016. That’s nearly a decade of development under the Riot banner. I remember when they first announced the acquisition; the hype was real. Everyone was expecting a serious contender to the established fighting game giants. So, to see it come to this is a bit of a disappointment, to say the least.

The good news, if there is any in a situation like this, is that Riot says they're not abandoning the project entirely. A "smaller, focused team" will apparently be taking over, concentrating on "key improvements." They're also planning to keep working with fighting game tournament organizers and local communities. "We're reshaping the team to give 2XKO a more sustainable path forward," Riot stated. It sounds like they're trying to right the ship, but the scale of the layoffs definitely raises some eyebrows.

Of course, the most important thing right now is the well-being of those who lost their jobs. Riot says they're offering impacted employees the chance to apply for other roles within the company. And for those who can't find a new spot, they're offering a minimum of six months' pay and severance. It’s a decent package, I suppose, but it's still a jarring experience. Hopefully, those talented developers will land on their feet quickly and find new opportunities to bring their skills to the gaming world. The FGC could certainly use them.