Without trying to hide the lay-offs elephant in the room, the 2XKO developers are eager to reassure the fighting games community — the game is still alive and gonna get bigger, better.
Two new League of Legends champions have been confirmed as 2XKO characters: Akali and Senna. The reveal is rather scarce for details, coming with the “work in progress” notice.
Alongside this announcement, the development team highlighted their plans in three aspects: Duos, general gameplay, and community support.
Akali and Senna in 2XKO: Gameplay reveal
It feels great to see more champions planned for 2XKO. The roster is pretty limited as for a tag-team 2v2 fighter. Akali and Senna certainly are welcome additions!
- Akali is a “ninja who cuts opponents down with deadly precision.” In the video, we can see her teleporting behind Darius and punishing his whiff. Akali proceeds with a series of attacks, including ninja spins and kunai hits.
- Senna “blasts enemies with a massive cannon, then rushes them down in her wraith form.” A huge weapon looks like th basis of Senna’s far-reaching and high-damaging normals. The specials include a beam blast. Senna gains enough energy and uses a long hitstun of Darius to transform into her shadow form, becoming quicker and probably more effective.
Local Duo Mode is in a prototyping phase
One of the key aspects that make 2XKO unique is the possibility of duo play: two people control champions in one team. SonicFox and INZEM used this feature actively even in the mixed mode tournament at Frosty Faustings 2026.
The next step for 2XKO Duos is a couch co-op — “together against the world.”
While the idea is brilliant, the developers’ message is very vague about the release window. They've been “prototyping a Local Duo Mode experience”, so apparently, it’s too early to expect it in the game.
High skill ceiling remains in 2XKO gameplay (but Yasuo and Ekko are gonna be nerfed)
The whole message about the future of 2XKO appeared right after harsh lay-offs in Riot Games. This situation caused discussions in the fighting games community (FGC) about mistakes made during the game’s development.
Alongside too long expectations that killed the hype and a small roster, people have been complaining about the tag-team sub-genre and the high level of complexity.
While talking about the core gameplay, Shaun “Unconkable” Rivera, the 2XKO game director, said that the thing will generally remain the same.
“We love that 2XKO is fast-paced, allowing your reactions and creativity to shine while providing a ton of depth to dig into. The skill ceiling of this game is high, and that's where it's gonna stay.”
Yasuo and Ekko are mentioned as one of the known gameplay issues. While not promising the exact steps, the message clearly suggests future nerfs: “Their weaknesses aren’t apparent enough at the highest level of play.”
These two are often put at the top in 2XKO tier lists, including one by bleed, the Frosty Faustings 2026 champion.
2XKO community support
Riot Games sticks to the previously announced 2XKO esports schedule and deepen their support of the smaller tournament organizers.
“The goal is to give smaller TOs new tools to expand, and to reward players for joining their local community.”
This statement is as important as the reveal of Akali and Senna. Reaching the highest level of play requires tremendous dedication, and the competitors needed a clear confirmation that the official 2XKO esports series is not going to disappear.
Right after the developers’ message was published, Steve "Supernoon" Carbajal won a Challenger-level 2XKO tournament at GENESIS X3. Can you guess who he played? Sure, the characters were Yasuo and Ekko.
The next two 2XKO esports events happen on one weekend. Texas Showdown 2026 is from March 27 to March 29, and it’s clearly a tournament for North American players. viennality XL gathers European competitors from March 28 to March 29.
