Riot Games announced a reduction in the 2XKO development team on February 9, 2026, citing player momentum that was not sufficient to support a team of its size. The company did not disclose a headcount. PC Gamer later reported that about 80 roles were affected—slightly less than half the team—but that was not a confirmed count of employees who ultimately left Riot.
The story changed later: on August 20, 2026, Riot said active development would conclude at the end of the year. It said the game would remain playable and its servers would stay online beyond 2026.
How many 2XKO developers were affected?
Riot’s February 9 announcement said it was reducing the team but gave no number. PC Gamer reported that Riot estimated about 80 roles would be eliminated, describing that as a little less than half of the development team. Because impacted employees could apply for other jobs at Riot, the number of people who actually departed was not known when that report was published. The headline phrase “half the team” is therefore an approximation of roles affected, not a verified final departure count. Riot’s announcement and PC Gamer’s report distinguish those points.
Why did Riot reduce the team?
Tom Cannon, 2XKO executive producer, said that after the game expanded from PC to consoles, Riot saw consistent trends in how players engaged with it. He described a “passionate core audience,” but said overall momentum had not reached the level needed to sustain a team of that size long term.
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Riot said it would help affected employees explore other opportunities inside the company where possible. It also announced a minimum of six months of notice pay and severance where notice was not provided. Those were the company’s stated support measures; the announcement did not describe individual employees’ eventual outcomes.
What happened after the February layoffs announcement?
On August 20, 2026, Riot announced a further change: active development of 2XKO would conclude at the end of 2026. Riot said it had reviewed performance through the year, including revenue, retention, new players and engagement, but had not seen a meaningful, sustained change in the game’s trajectory. It also said the game cost substantially more to operate than it brought in, while engagement remained relatively flat despite larger updates. Those are Riot’s explanations; the company did not publish audited financial results or specific player and retention figures in the announcement. Riot’s August update contains its full statement.
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| Date | Riot’s announced position | What it meant |
|---|---|---|
| February 9, 2026 | Team reduction; no headcount in Riot’s post | PC Gamer reported about 80 roles affected, but the final number of departures was unknown. |
| At the February announcement | 2026 Competitive Series plans unchanged | Riot said it remained committed to tournament organizers and local communities at that time. |
| August 20, 2026 | Active development to conclude at the end of 2026 | Riot’s later plan was to keep the game playable and servers online beyond 2026. |
Will 2XKO shut down?
Not according to Riot’s August 20 plan. The company said servers would remain online beyond 2026 and that 2XKO would remain available to download for free on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S after active development ends. Ending active development is not the same as taking the game offline.
Riot’s published plan also called for two final champions, Lux and Samira, a final major content patch in October, and an optional December patch focused mostly on bug fixes. These were plans stated on August 20, not unconditional guarantees. Riot said all champions would be unlocked, most cosmetic items bundled, and purchases made on or before August 20 refunded. It also said community organizers could continue to run events beyond 2026 under its Community Competition Guidelines.
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What did Riot say about competition in 2026?
When Riot announced the team reduction in February, Cannon said plans for the 2026 Competitive Series were unchanged, and the company said it remained committed to tournament organizers and local communities. That statement described Riot’s position at the time; the later August development announcement superseded the February news on the game’s longer-term development, but did not itself announce that servers or community events would end.
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