Skip to main content

2XKO is the League of Legends fighting game’s title

Yasuo in 2XKO.
Riot Games

Riot Games announced the title of its free-to-play League of Legends fighting game, which it had previously referred to as Project L: 2XKO.

Project L Is Now 2XKO

The title — 2XKO — was revealed in a new minute-long trailer that shows some fights involving Yasuo, Ahri, Ekko, Darius, and Illaoi. This was followed up by a “Year in Preview” video outlining what we can expect from 2XKO this year. In that video, executive producer Tom Cannon explains that the 2XKO development team has grown massively, that a demo of it will be playable at EVO Japan 2024 in April, and that Riot plans on sharing a lot more about the game through the rest of 2024 ahead of a PC and console release next year.

The title 2XKO seems to be a reference to its main hook: this is a 2v2 fighting game. Riot Game is positioning 2XKO’s four-player 2v2 battles as the flagship mode for the fighter, which seems like it is otherwise building on the legacy of tag-team fighters like the Marvel vs. Capcom series. Its tag mechanics and Fuse system stand out from anything else in the fighting game scene right now and are reminiscent of the team-based nature of League of Legends.

Year in Preview 2024 | 2XKO (Project L)

Riot Games first teased 2XKO at EVO 2019 and has only given sporadic updates on it since then. That’s clearly changing in 2024. Riot Games could use that kind of win this year, as it laid off over 500 developers in January and is sunsetting its Riot Forge label following the release of Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story on February 21.

Riot Games plans to fully launch 2XKO on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S in 2025

Editors' Recommendations

Tomas Franzese
Tomas Franzese is a Staff Writer at Digital Trends, where he reports on and reviews the latest releases and exciting…
Watch a full match of League of Legends fighting game Project L
League of Legends fighting game Project L match intro featuring Ekko and Ahri.

Project L, Riot Games' upcoming free-to-play League of Legends fighting game, features a "duo play" system that lets two players be on the same team during a 2v2 tag-team match.

Project L: Introducing Duo Play - /dev diary

Read more
League of Legends’ new Arena mode emphasizes bite-sized, intense action
A screenshot of League of Legends Arena

League of Legends’ 5v5 MOBA mode is one of the most iconic multiplayer setups in gaming. It attracts millions of players every day, and millions of dollars are spent throwing and giving rewards for tournaments based on that formula. That’s why it’s exciting when Riot Games occasionally experiments with new modes that modify the core concept of League of Legends in unique ways. The latest mode to do this is the 2v2v2v2 Arena, which is coming to the game as part of this summer’s Soul Fighter event.

Channeling the energy of modes like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s Gunfight (a personal favorite of mine), Arena is a mode that distills that classics formula into quicker, more intense matches in smaller arenas. As someone who likes the world and lore of League of Legends but is hesitant to put in the hours required to learn and master the 5v5 competitive esport part of League of Legends, I was particularly intrigued when I got to check out what Riot Games has in store with Arena mode ahead of its release.
How Arena works
Arena matches consist of four teams of two players. Those teams will be able to blind ban certain Champions for all players in their match, but players on two different teams can still pick the same Champion. Before they fight, though, there’s a Shop Phase reminiscent of games like Teamfight Tactics or Valorant. Over 45 seconds, players will have the time to purchase Augments that can enhance their Champion and Juices that give round-specific boosts. After every player has bought what they want (or that timer runs out), the Combat Phase begins.

Read more
The Mageseeker blends League of Legends lore with Hades’ action
Sylas attacking with chains surrounded by purple magic

When I sat down to try a demo of The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story at PAX East, I was dropped straight into an escape mission. At first, I fumbled with switching between casting spells and dodging attacks from enemy mages. By the end, I juggled between at least four magical abilities while dashing around to survive. It was a hectic experience, but one that perfectly complemented its storytelling.

The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story | Official Gameplay Trailer

Read more