Fighting words

Everything we know about 2XKO (Project L), the Riot Games fighting game

Here's everything we currently know about the upcoming fighting game from Riot Games.

Image credit: VG247 / Riot Games

Article by Connor Makar Staff Writer

Updated on Feb. 22, 2024

We're finally here. Riot Games' fighting game, previously known as Project L, has been given an actual name; Project L. A 2v2 fighter set within the League of Legends IP, 2XKO is set to have some major milestones in 2024, and a full release to the world pretty soon.

The latest batch of big reveals for the game came alongside the name reveal, including the game's launch platforms, a targeted release date, as well as a timeline for when a select few lucky players will be able to get their hands on the game from the comfort of their own home. It's the biggest update we've had in a while for the game!

For those looking to stay informed on this project, this article will take you through everything we currently know about 2XKO. As more information comes out, this piece will be updated, so be sure to pop back every once in a while if you’re unsure what’s been revealed or not.

Check out the last 2XKO dev diary here!

What is the 2XKO release date?
What kind of fighting game is 2XKO?
What platforms will 2XKO release on?
What characters are in 2XKO?
Who is making 2XKO?
What's the deal with 2XKO esports / competitive?
How long has 2XKO been in development?
When is the next 2XKO beta?
All official 2XKO / Project L updates

What is the 2XKO release date?

As of today, Feburary 22, we've learned that Riot Games is aiming to release 2XKO in 2025. There's no release day, month, nor quarter specified as of yet. It's obviously a big window, but it's the first concrete release window we've been given since the game's announcement.

What kind of fighting game is 2XKO?

2XKO is a 2D tag fighter, with 2v2 combat as each player takes control of a pair of League of Legends characters. It's a three button fighter (meaning there will be a light, medium, and heavy attack button), and special move inputs with be simple directional commands rather than traditional fighting game inputs. For example, instead of doing a quarter circle motion for a fireball as you would in Street Fighter, you'd just do forward + attack input. If you've played the Smash Brothers series, or Street Fighter 6's modern controls, it's similar to that. Both characters on a team must be KO'd to win - hence the name 2XKO.

The game has Duo Play - allowing for two individual players to take control of one character each on a team. You can also make use of the fuse system to change how you interact with your assist character, allowing for additional assist attacks, better assist supers, etc.

The game has numerous defensive options, many of which have not been showcased yet. One of them is a retreating guard, which seems to allow you to cancel backdashes into a guard. Also, as a tag fighter, there are numerous tag mechanics which were shown off in the Project L January 2023 dev diary.

In terms of close comparisons, the game looks to have the fast pacing and a flexible tag mechanic that harkens back to titles such as Marvel vs Capcom or Dragon Ball FighterZ.

2XKO is also free-to-play! Announced in the August 2022 dev diary, the game will have no cost of entry like all the other Riot Games products.

What platforms will 2XKO release on?

2XKO will be released on the PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5!

What characters are in 2XKO?

The following characters have been seen in promotional material for 2XKO. However, only Ahri, Darius, Ekko, and Yasuo have been revealed as playable in demos as of Worlds 2023. For Katarina and Jinx, their presence in the final game is not hard confirmed.

Katarina
Darius
Ahri
Ekko
Jinx
Illaoi
Yasuo

As for future characters, we have no word on who we can expect or how many we can expect to see in the final roster. However, each character does hav a selection of chromas, allowing you to customize their colour schemes in the character select.

Who is making 2XKO?

Aside from Riot Games, the company who is behind the title, there are some truly interesting people behind the creation of 2XKO. Tom and Tony Cannon have been positioned as the faces of the Project so far, both of which have long standing history in the fighting game community. Tom is the founder of Evo, the largest fighting game tournament in the world, while his brother Tony was behind the groundbreaking arcade netcode software GGPO. Cool stuff!

One Shaun "Unconkable" Rivera is also present on the team! A super old school American FGC head who was competing in Tekken all the way back in the early 2000s alongisde big names like ChetChetty and of course the UK's very own Ryan Hart in his prime. Having worked at Riot Games for over a decade now, he now fills the role of Associate Game Director and Gameplay Design Lead on Project L.

You've also got Kyohei "MarlinPie" Lehr, a game designer for 2XKO. They are a legendary Marvel vs Capcom player, and was able to show off their stuff at Evo 2023 during the show floor game showcase. The tag fighter legacy doesn't end there! You've also got Daniel "Clockw0rk" Maniago, another well-known American fighter game play turned game dev.

These few senior developers, alongside a wider team of other Riot R&D developers are creating 2XKO. As with all games, it goes beyond the efforts of a few senior staff. There's no precise count on how many developers are working on the game in total as of right now.

What's the deal with 2XKO esports / competitive scene?

While the esports bubble is exploding around us, Riot Games appears to be stepping away from the full franchised format of League of Legends and Valorant, with the Cannon's pledging to keep grass roots fighting game tournaments a signficant part of the ecosystem.

This includes not forcing pro 2XKO players to drop other games, and allowing 2XKO to be played at tournaments where other fighting games are present. In a way, it's similar to how Riot Games handled the professional League of Legends scene before they stepped in and took everything over in the 2000s.

With that being said, nothing has been set in stone yet. There are no written contracts, and things change over time. There hasn't been any interviews diving into this subject, nor official blog post / dev diary going into it. Stay tuned for more details.

How long has 2XKO been in development?

Technically, 2XKO may have been in the works as early as 2016 when the company acquired Radiant Entertainment. That developer was staffed by Tom and Tony Cannon, as well as Seth Killian as they were developing Rising Thunder. This game, while still playable now via a publicly available community version, was cancelled to make way for 2XKO, then called Project L.

Is there any news of a 2XKO beta?

There is! Alongside the 2XKO name announcement, we found out that Riot Games was hoping for at-home testing to kick off in 2024. That means closed beta, and one you can apply for on the 2XKO website. Prior to this, there have been invite-only playtests, and of course hands-on demos shown at select events..