2XKO roster, platforms, free-to-play, beta & more
2XKO, formerly Project L, is the upcoming fighting game that brings the Champions of League of Legends into the 2D tag fighter world, here is what we know.
2KXO is the formal name of what we have been calling 2XKO for the last few years. The upcoming 2D tag fighting game in the style of Marvel vs. Capcom or Dragon Ball FighterZ brings the Champions of League of Legends into a totally new arena.
We recently learned the official title of the game, 2KXO, alongside plenty of other interesting details, including plans for the game to launch in 2025. Here is everything we know so far about the game.
2KXO is a 2v2 tag fighting game that is based on the heroes and locales of the League of Legends series. The publisher Riot Games is working on the project itself; having hired a team of fighting game veterans to work on it internally, headed by the legendary Tom and Tony Cannon. Perhaps it could compete with the rumored EA Marvel fighting game, or even MultiVersus.
"Our goal is to build a super high-quality fighting game that the FGC (Fighting Game Community) can invest deeply in, playing for years or even decades," said Senior Director and Executive Producer for 2XKO Tom Cannon in an official blog. "That takes time to get right, and we’re not going to rush it."
The project was initially revealed in 2019, but we've slowly been getting more morsels of what to expect. So far, we know you can create combos by tagging in and tagging out heroes at the right time. Riot Games is hoping to implement "an easy-to-learn but hard-to-master mentality."
2XKO, since its announcement in 2019, has revealed seven characters who will be joining the roster. However, Riot Games has promised that there will be a "full roster of champions" when 2XKO is finally released. These are the champions we know are in 2XKO currently:
- Jinx
- Ekko
- Katarina
- Illaoi
- Darius
- Ahri
- Yasuo
2XKO is still a while away, but thanks to Bruce "GamerBee" Hsiang, who attended a Riot event in Japan, we learned some interesting early details about 2XKO. Much like Riot's other big games like League of Legends and VALORANT, it seems that 2XKO will also be a free-to-play, live service game.
Where most fighting games get sequels and new editions, it would seem that 2XKO will be a singular game, and likely see continued support and updates so long as the game is successful. If League is anything to go by, we can likely expect to only have access to a rotating handful of characters, with the rest locked behind purchases.
Further, it seems likely that there will be cosmetic items for players to purchase. The Champions already have years worth of alternate looks in League of Legends, so it seems likely that some of those will come to 2XKO as well.
Riot Games has confirmed that the popular rollback netcode will be in 2XKO. Rollback netcode compensates for lag as it accurately predicts what you and your opponent are about to perform. It has been a much-requested feature from fans of the genre, including popular Twitch streamer Maximilian Dood.
Rollback netcode is important in today's age of online play for the fighting game genre as you need absolutely precise timing to input combos. Riot Games has said that it will be using "rollback as a foundation" and then will be "adding in existing tech from Riot like RiotDirect, which does a great job at minimizing ping for League of Legends and VALORANT.
It should be a match made in heaven if everything goes well. If the game goes competitive, perhaps the rivalry between TSM and CLG will continue in 2XKO.
While details are few so far, we do know that public tests are coming for 2XKO later this year. We have been told to expect a much more in-depth look at 2XKO over the course of 2024 ahead of a potential launch next year. The game will be on show at more events such as Evo Japan, but fans will also get a chance to play from home.
You can sign up for the playtest right now, but there is no confirmation on when this test may happen. It will be this year, but you might be left waiting a few months before you get to try the game for yourself.
A departure from most of Riot's other competitive games, 2KXO is confirmed to be coming to consoles as well as PC. It makes sense that translating League and VALORANT to consoles would be difficult in ways that a fighting game like 2XKO just makes more sense.
The confirmed platforms for 2KXO are:
- PC
- PlayStation 5
- Xbox Series X|S
That is all we know so far about 2KXO. In the meantime, you can head to our League of Legends homepage where we have guides on the ranking system, rank distribution, how to check how much money you have spent on the game, and the patch notes schedule.
About The Author
Chris Penwell
Chris Penwell is an experienced video games journalist with a Bachelor in Communications. He loves to play narrative-focused games like Kingdom Hearts and Beyond Good & Evil.
