2XKO Evolving the Game
2XKO has the potential to evolve the Fighting Game genre. From the advanced netcode, a roster from the biggest esports game League of Legends, to the Free to Play model, with special moves being a single button instead of a motion input mechanic, and a tag team system that lets you play with a friend, this game has the potential to grow not just Fighting games, but the Fighting Game Community as a whole. With 2XKO being Riot Games’ first foray into the fighting genre, they’re continuously expanding the type of games and genres they make. Having EVO co-founders Tom Cannon and Tony Cannon and their team of talented developers, Riot Games shows how serious they are. They have a window of release that is 2025, which gives Riot Games another year to polish and finalize 2XKO’s system and roster of champions. If you have the faintest of interest in fighting games and/or League of Legends, 2XKO should be on your radar.
Starting with the netcode, why is it important? Simply in one word, lag. Or better yet, the absence of lag. Any online game has lag, but when you play a game that you need exact frame inputs for, you feel that lag tremendously more. In 2006, Tony Cannon wanted to reduce the amount of lag in games. This led him to create GGPO (Good Game, Peace Out), which is widely acknowledged as one of the best netcodes for fighting games. Now Tony Cannon works for Riot Games and 2XKO. He is working on harmonizing Riot’s servers with updated GGPO. If it works, this could be the best netcode in fighting games.
Riot Games has more than just stable servers when it comes to League of Legends, it has popularity. 2XKO is capitalizing on League’s already established and followed roster, adapting some of them into the fighting game. There are currently seven announced champions in 2XKO, with a potential of 161 other champions to choose from the League of Legends current roster. Having an established franchise of popular characters can potentially bring players into the game on character merit alone. This year’s World Championship 2024 boasts over a million viewers on the first day. While last year the League of Legends World Championship 2023 had a peak of 6.4 million viewers, firmly sitting it on the throne. If even 0.1% of League’s average daily players concurrently play 2XKO, it surpasses that of Multiversus’ 153,000+, which is the most concurrent players in fighting games.
Granted Multiversus’ player count has drastically gone down, Riot has maintained a healthy amount of players with both League of Legends and Valorant. 2XKO is also Free to Play, which is shared by all Riot Games’ games and the aforementioned Multiversus. Free to Play (F2P) is not a new model to the fighting game scene, but it is an underdeveloped and niche aspect to the already niche genre. Riot Games already has successful F2P games and can utilize those successes whereas other F2P fighting games have to learn on the fly. The best benefit to gamers when it comes to F2P is zero barrier of entry. If you find the characters interesting or the gameplay fun, just download and try. Maybe one or more aspects will hook you.
Speaking of, hook a friend with you because this game is 2v2. You and a friend can team up and fight together against another team of two, or you can walk the path solo, it’s up to you. Although have you ever played a competitive game and had a friend on the fence about it, but they got discouraged because all they could do was lose to you? Now you can take them under your wing and work with them (or fight against them if you are so inclined).
What if you and/or your friend are not comfortable with motion inputs, a common input mechanic in fighting games, 2XKO is built without motion inputs. Similar to the Super Smash Bros. franchise, 2XKO has single button specials to help lower the skill barrier of entry. Although if you think opening that door lowers the ceiling of what skill level can achieve, you’d be wrong. The game is built with depth in mind, with intentions of fostering all skill levels. Although this comes with a fault, fighting game veterans may find this more difficult to adapt to.
On August 8th, 2024, 2XKO invited players to their Alpha Lab, where players could try an alpha version of the game for a week and a half. Riot Games has stated that they plan to take feedback into consideration from those who have participated. From the passionate showcases to the open door for criticism and promise to make the best version of itself, 2XKO is shaping up to be a serious contender in the Fighting Game scene.
