I picked up 2XKO on a whim back in January, mostly because I wanted to see how Ekko would translate into a fighting game. A few months and a lot of lost ranked matches later, I still open it most weekends. So when Riot dropped its August 20, 2026 announcement about the game’s future, I wanted to lay out what 2XKO actually is, how it plays, and what that news really changes for anyone thinking about jumping in now.
What Exactly Is 2XKO?
2XKO is a free to play 2v2 tag fighting game built by Riot Games, the studio behind League of Legends and Valorant. Instead of picking one character like you would in Street Fighter or Tekken, you build a duo of two League of Legends champions and fight as a team. You call in assists, tag your partner in mid combo, and lean on team mechanics that a normal one on one fighter simply does not have.
The game was known as Project L for years during development before Riot gave it the name 2XKO in February 2024, a change the studio explained in its own 2024 Year in Preview post.
If you have played League, the names on the character select screen will feel familiar. Ahri, Darius, Jinx, Yasuo and the rest are all here. But nobody is farming minions or pushing lanes. Every ability has been rebuilt from scratch to work as a fighting game move, so a spell that used to be a skillshot in League might become a launcher, an overhead, or a combo extender in 2XKO.
Is 2XKO Actually Free?
Yes, and there is no hidden catch beyond the usual cosmetic store you would expect from a Riot game. You do not pay to unlock the base experience. All you need is a Riot Account, and your progress and inventory carry across platforms automatically.
2XKO currently runs on:
- PC
- PlayStation 5
- Xbox Series X and Series S
Console players do not need an active PlayStation Plus subscription to play online, which Riot confirmed in its own patch notes for update 1.1.1. That is a small detail, but it matters if you were on the fence about buying a subscription just for this one game.
Platforms, Crossplay and What Is Missing
One thing I appreciate about 2XKO is that friend groups do not need to own the same console. Crossplay works between PC and both current generation consoles, and progress follows your Riot Account rather than a specific machine.
| Platform | Supported |
|---|---|
| PC | Yes |
| PlayStation 5 | Yes |
| Xbox Series X | Yes |
| Xbox Series S | Yes |
| PS4 | No |
| Xbox One | No |
| Nintendo Switch | No |
The console release arrived with Season 1 in January 2026, and Riot has kept both platforms on the same patch schedule since. If you are on last generation hardware, unfortunately 2XKO is not built for it, and there is no public roadmap suggesting that will change.
Why Riot Named It 2XKO
The name is a fairly direct nod to the core idea, two fighters working together toward a knockout. Riot had internally called the project Project L for years while it built the game alongside feedback from fighting game community members, something the studio detailed in its February 2024 announcement.
Honestly the old name never really described the game. Project L sounded like a spy thriller. 2XKO tells you exactly what you are getting within a few seconds of reading it.
How the 2v2 Tag System Actually Works
This is the part that took me the longest to wrap my head around, so let me break it down the way I wish someone had explained it to me on day one.
You choose two champions before a match. One is active on screen while the other waits off screen, similar to games like Marvel vs Capcom or Skullgirls if you have played those. But 2XKO adds a few of its own twists layered on top of that familiar structure.
Assists
An assist calls your benched champion in for a single quick action without fully swapping control. You might use an assist to cover your approach, extend a combo, or interrupt an opponent who is pressuring you. Picking two champions whose assists complement each other, rather than two characters who play identically, tends to matter more than raw individual strength.
Tags
A tag brings your second champion in fully, letting them take over as the active fighter. This is where matches get genuinely tactical. You start thinking about which character has more health left, whose special moves are on cooldown, and who is better positioned to punish your opponent’s next move. New players usually only think about damage. Better players think about tag timing just as much.
Fuses
Fuses are the system that surprised me the most when I started playing. A Fuse is chosen before the match and changes how your entire team functions, affecting things like how supers build, how tags behave, or how assists trigger. Riot introduced this system during the closed beta, explained in its beta update post, and it has stuck around as one of the more distinct parts of the game’s identity.
In practice, choosing a Fuse means answering a question before you even pick your champions: do you want a team built around aggressive rushdown, or one that plays a slower, more defensive game. That decision shapes the whole match before the first hit lands.
The Current 2XKO Champion Roster
As of the most recent update, the official roster listed on Riot’s 2XKO homepage includes:
- Ahri
- Akali
- Blitzcrank
- Braum
- Caitlyn
- Darius
- Ekko
- Illaoi
- Jinx
- Teemo
- Vi
- Warwick
- Yasuo
None of these are simple reskins of their League versions. Blitzcrank’s grab, for example, carries real weight as a command grab here, and Illaoi’s tentacles work almost like a stage control tool rather than a straightforward damage ability. If you know these champions from League, expect the shape of their kit to feel familiar but the execution to feel completely different.
Which Champion Should Beginners Start With
There is no single correct answer here, it really depends on what kind of player you already are. Based on my own time in training mode and a lot of losses in ranked, here is how I would break it down.
- Jinx suits players who like keeping distance and controlling space with ranged tools.
- Darius rewards a direct, aggressive playstyle and punishes hesitation.
- Ahri is a good pick if you enjoy mobility and tricky repositioning.
- Braum works well for players who prefer defense and shutting down an opponent’s approach.
- Ekko fits players who like movement based mix ups and creative offense.
- Vi is built for close range pressure and getting in an opponent’s face.
- Yasuo is more technical, with combo routes that take real practice to land consistently.
My honest advice, do not trust a tier list you found on a forum. Spend twenty minutes with three or four characters in training mode and pick whichever one feels natural in your hands. That feeling matters more than whatever a spreadsheet says is statistically strongest this patch.
Are the Controls Actually Beginner Friendly?
Riot built 2XKO without the complicated motion inputs that scare a lot of newcomers away from older fighting games. There is an official basic controls guide on the 2XKO site that walks through the fundamentals if you are starting from zero.
But simple inputs do not mean a simple game. The buttons are easy to press. Knowing when to press them is where the real skill lives. You still need to learn neutral spacing, blocking, anti airs, punishing whiffed attacks, tag timing, assist timing, and meter management. I thought the low input barrier meant I would climb ranked quickly. I was wrong within my first ten matches.
A Practical Path to Getting Better at 2XKO
If you are brand new to fighting games in general, here is the order I would actually recommend, based on what worked for me and what wasted my time.
Learn one character properly before touching a second
Spend real time in training mode with light, medium and heavy attacks, your special moves, your launcher, your anti air, and your super. You do not need to memorize everything on day one, but you should know what each button does under pressure.
Learn one combo you can land consistently
A short combo you land every single time beats a flashy YouTube combo you land once in ten attempts. Consistency wins more matches than complexity, especially at lower ranks.
Learn to block before you learn to attack more
This sounds unglamorous but it is genuinely the biggest gap between new players and intermediate ones. A lot of early losses come from pressing buttons nonstop instead of waiting for a real opening.
Understand your assist, not just your main character
Ask whether your assist hits high or low, whether it covers your approach, and how long it stays active. Your second champion is not just a spare life, they are half your strategy.
Stick with a character through a losing streak
Switching characters after every bad match means you never actually learn why you are losing. Give a character real time before deciding they are not for you.
Ranked Mode and Competitive Play
2XKO has a full ranked ladder for players who want a competitive path rather than casual matches, listed among the game’s core features on Riot’s official site. Riot has also backed a 2026 Competitive Series with community run Major and Challenger tournaments, detailed on the Competitive Series calendar page.
Ranked play changes how you think about the game almost immediately. You stop caring only about landing a big combo and start thinking about matchups, punishes, and which team compositions consistently give you trouble.
The Climb: 2XKO’s PvE Mode
Beyond versus play, 2XKO added a player versus environment mode called The Climb, which gives players progression, upgrades and enemy encounters outside of standard matches. Riot walked through the design thinking behind it in a dedicated development article.
If ranked feels intimidating at first, The Climb is a solid place to get comfortable with combos and tag timing without another player punishing every mistake in real time.
The August 2026 Announcement, Explained Plainly
On August 20, 2026, Riot Games announced that active development of 2XKO will end in December 2026. This news came directly from Riot in a post titled 2XKO Active Development Will End in December 2026, and it is worth reading in full if you are invested in the game.
Here is what Riot actually confirmed in that post, without any speculation added on top:
- Servers are planned to remain online after active development ends
- All champions will be unlocked for every player starting in September 2026
- Fuses will still be obtainable through in game tutorials
- Voice chat is being added to private lobbies
- A larger map is being added to private lobbies
- Private lobbies will support up to 40 players
- A bug fix patch is possible in December
- The game stays free to download on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X and S
The key distinction here, and it is one worth repeating, is that ending active development is not the same as shutting the game down. Riot is explicit that servers stay online. What changes is the pace of new content, new champions, and major gameplay updates going forward.
What This Means If You Are Deciding Whether to Try 2XKO Now
I will be straightforward about this rather than dressing it up. If you were hoping for years of new champions and evolving seasons the way League of Legends has had, that expectation needs to change. The roadmap Riot originally pitched is not the roadmap 2XKO is on anymore.
That said, nothing about the announcement makes the game worse to play today. The thirteen champions currently in the roster still play the same way they did last week. Ranked still works. The Climb still works. And with every champion becoming unlocked in September, new players will actually have an easier entry point than players did at launch, when characters had to be earned or purchased individually.
If you already play regularly, nothing forces you to stop. If you are curious and have never tried it, this is arguably one of the more accessible windows to jump in, since the full roster becomes available to everyone at once.
If what you specifically want is a long term live service game with a content calendar stretching years into the future, 2XKO is no longer that game, and it is fair to factor that into your decision.
2XKO Compared to Traditional One on One Fighters
A standard fighting game puts one character against another and that is the entire equation. 2XKO adds a second layer on both sides of the match. You are managing your character, your partner, and reacting to your opponent’s character and their partner at the same time.
That multiplies the number of realistic team compositions dramatically. Two players who each know the exact same twenty six characters can still face wildly different matches depending on which pairs they bring and which Fuse they picked beforehand. It is part of why matches rarely feel repetitive once you have put real hours in.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 2XKO free to play?
Yes. 2XKO is free on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, confirmed on the official 2XKO site.
Is 2XKO connected to League of Legends the game?
It uses League of Legends and Arcane characters but is a separate fighting game, not a MOBA. You do not need League experience to play or understand it.
Can I play solo?
Yes, you control both champions on your team yourself. You can also team up with a friend so each person controls one character, a mode Riot describes directly on its official page.
Does 2XKO support crossplay?
Yes, PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X and S players can play together, as confirmed in Riot’s January 2026 patch notes.
Is 2XKO available on PS4?
No. Only current generation consoles are supported, per the official platform selection page.
Was 2XKO previously called Project L?
Yes, Riot renamed it in February 2024, announced in its 2024 preview post.
Is 2XKO shutting down?
No, not immediately. Active development ends in December 2026, but Riot has stated servers are planned to remain online afterward, detailed in the official August 2026 announcement.
Will 2XKO get new champions after 2026?
Riot’s announcement does not promise new champions beyond what already exists. All current champions are being unlocked for everyone in September 2026, while active development is scheduled to conclude that December.
Is 2XKO difficult to learn?
The inputs are simple compared to older fighting games, but mastering tags, assists, Fuses and defense takes real practice. Riot’s own controls guide is a solid starting point.
Final Thoughts
2XKO is still one of the more interesting fighting games to come out in years, mostly because the tag and Fuse systems genuinely change how you have to think about a match compared to a standard one on one fighter. The August 2026 announcement changes the long term outlook, not the day to day experience. Servers stay up, the roster becomes fully accessible to everyone in September, and the thirteen champions currently available still play exactly as they did before the news broke.
If you are curious, my honest suggestion is to download it, spend an hour in training mode with two or three champions, and see if the tag system clicks for you the way it eventually clicked for me. Just go in with realistic expectations about what the future update schedule looks like from here.