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In a message posted on Riot’s website today, 2XKO executive producer Tom Cannon revealed that the development team of the game is being cut by a sizable amount. Cannon said that this move is being made after seeing “consistent trends” with how people were engaging with 2XKO following its launch. Some who are being removed from the 2XKO dev team are said to potentially be landing different jobs within Riot, while others who are being outright laid off will be granted six months of severance. As for how this will impact the game itself, Cannon said that this choice is being made to help 2XKO in the long-term.
“After a lot of discussion and reflection, we are reducing the size of the 2XKO team,” wrote Cannon. “I want you to know that [this] decision wasn’t made lightly. As we expanded from PC to console, we saw consistent trends in how players were engaging with 2XKO. 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. With a smaller, focused team, we’re going to dig in and make key improvements to the game, including some of the things we’ve already heard you asking for. We’ll share some of our plans soon.”
“Ultimately, this decision reflects a shift in how we operate,” he continued. “This isn’t a judgment on individual Rioters or a signal that the journey is over. We’re reshaping the team to give 2XKO a more sustainable path forward.”
Riot Continues to Struggle
All in all, this is a pretty concerning move for Riot Games to make, especially so soon after the release of 2XKO. For this decision to have been made merely a few weeks out from launch suggests that player numbers for the LoL fighting game must be far beneath what Riot anticipated. Reviews for 2XKO haven’t been particularly impressive, either, which has likely made it that much more difficult for new players to want to jump in and give the game a shot.
