The fighting game by Riot doesn’t follow the patterns of their other projects, LoL and Valorant. Instead of a separate league, 2XKO esports will be integrated into the existing FGC events.
Beyond the excitement of receiving an excellent fighting game, the community was really interested in the opportunities of the official esports support by the developers, Riot Games. Seeing how League of Legends thrives, many top players saw 2XKO as the next title to land on.
The announcement of the official 2XKO Competitive Series in 2026 and potentially beyond should not make esports professionals disappointed. Also, Riot Games made interesting reveals even for those who don't compete at big stages. All the details are here.
When is 2XKO coming to consoles?
The release of 2XKO on the consoles is planned for January 2026. The game is coming to Xbox Series S|X and PlayStation 5.
It's certainly a great announcement, considering how many people in the fighting games community (FGC) use these consoles.
Also, 2XKO on PlayStation 5 and Xbox is a more accessible way for tournament organizers to add the game to their lineups. Such big events as Evo are using the PlayStation.
2XKO 2026 Competitive Series: Official support of FGC events
While LoL and Valorant have their dedicated esports leagues, run directly by Riot, the 2XKO Competitive Series is built differently. Starting from 2026, the developers will roll out the official support of existing FGC events.
This support includes increased prize pools and promotion via the official Riot channels. It's a lot, considering how the company created some of the biggest esports infrastructures ever. Recently, Riot also revealed their philosophy on balancing 2XKO for competitive and casual players.
The schedule of the 2XKO Competitive Series in 2026 is tightly connected to the in-game seasons.
- 2026 features 5 Major tournaments and 15 Challenger events.
- 1 Major and three Challengers last for one in-game season in 2XKO.
Season 1 in 2XKO should start in January 2026, as we already know what the first-ever esports Major is.
- Frosty Faustings 2026, a big FGC event, was chosen to host 2XKO Major from Jan. 29 to Feb. 1.
The Challenger events of this season are the following:
- Genesis X3, from Feb. 13 to Feb. 15.
- Texas Showdown, from March 27 to March 29.
- viennality 2k26, from March 27 to March 29.
Beyond these big tournaments, 2XKO developers promise their support for small locals. So, this Competitive Series is not only about crazy plays at the Majors — it's also about supporting fresh talents to make those crazy plays possible in the years to come.
Frame Perfect 2XKO skins to support esports
2XKO is a free-to-play fighting game, and Riot is not your nonprofit organization to help the community. The developers plan to use the approach from LoL and other big titles outside their ecosystem: sell skins and direct money to esports.
- Frame Perfect is the first set of 2XKO skins for this initiative. You can buy it in the 2XKO Store in Season 1.
We already witnessed some 2XKO esports events in 2025: like the tournament at Evo France 2025, where the DBFZ legend Wawa claimed the win. With the official 2XKO Competitive Series, the number of tournaments and their level should only increase — up to the official 2026 lineup, perhaps.
Selling skins for the community support of esports is a nice practice to bring into the fighting games community. It certainly feels like a better idea than selling tickets to online streams of the Capcom Cup 12.
