Riot Games co-founder says 2XKO needed millions of players to be sustainable

Riot Games co-founder Marc Merrill stated that the fighting game 2XKO required hundreds of thousands, or potentially millions, of monthly active players to remain financially sustainable. Speaking on the Lemonade Stand podcast, Merrill explained that the high player count was necessary to justify the game's significant development costs and cost structure.

Merrill attributed some of the project's difficulties to the release of Capcom’s Street Fighter 6, which he believes disrupted Riot's window to capture the interest of the fighting game community (FGC). He also noted that internal lack of alignment regarding strategy led to managerial fracturing within the development team.

Following a period of staff layoffs, community members have noted that the high targets for revenue from skins and player rates appeared unrealistic for the niche nature of the fighting game genre.