Riot lays off 2XKO team with ’30-minute notice’

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Okay, so it’s pretty rough news – Riot’s decided to shrink the team behind 2XKO. What’s even worse is some people found out they were being laid off with only half an hour’s notice! It’s a tough situation, and I feel for everyone affected.

Riot Games has announced another round of job cuts, this time affecting the team working on the 2XKO game. One developer shared that they were given only half an hour’s warning before being let go. Here’s a summary of the situation.

Riot downsizes 2XKO team due to lack of “overall momentum”

So, Riot Games announced the layoffs through a post on their website, and then they shared it on all their social media channels. It was pretty straightforward, honestly.

Tom Cannon, a senior director and executive producer at 2XKO, announced a change in plans for the fighting game, along with the reasons why they’re reducing the team size. This announcement was made just under a month after the game launched.

When we brought 2XKO to consoles, we noticed consistent patterns in player behavior. While the game has a dedicated and enthusiastic fanbase, Cannon explained that it hasn’t gained enough widespread popularity to justify maintaining our current team size in the long run. We’re now streamlining to a smaller, more focused team so we can concentrate on making important improvements to the game – including features players have been requesting. We’ll be sharing our plans for these improvements soon.

He also let fans know that their plans for 2026 are still on track, and 2XKO will keep participating in tournaments and staying involved with the community.

This change shows we’re evolving how we work. It’s not a reflection of anyone’s performance, and it doesn’t mean we’re giving up. We’re restructuring the team to help 2XKO succeed long-term.

– Tom Cannon, 2XKO executive producer and senior director

Around 80 team members, almost half of the total, lost their jobs in the recent layoffs.

2XKO dev receives 30-minute notice

Patrick Miller, a Riot Games employee since 2013, recently shared that he was laid off with only 30 minutes’ notice. He initially joined the company as editor-in-chief for League of Legends, a role he held from 2013 to 2015. After that, he transitioned to the 2XKO team, where he worked as a game designer and senior producer until the layoff.

Even though things ended badly, Miller expressed pride in 2XKO and his team, and he appreciated the support from the fighting game community. It’s unclear if the other team members were also let go with such short notice.

League of Legends champion designer Caroline Montano, known as “Carolion,” felt similarly. She led the design teams that created champions Illaoi, Blitzcrank, and Caitlyn.

Lead designer Alex Jaff, known as “Blinkity,” is still very proud of the game, especially his work on the champion Ekko and his role as team leader.

Cannon expressed gratitude to the employees affected by the layoffs and pledged to help them. The company is dedicated to assisting these employees during this difficult time, including exploring potential opportunities within Riot and providing at least six months of severance and notice pay when internal roles aren’t available.

It’s no surprise the news upset people, particularly because it impacted many well-known and respected veterans of the fighting game community.

The 2XKO schedule shows the game will be featured at GENESIS X3 from February 13th to 15th, and then at gamescom in mid-March.

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2026-02-10 07:41