2xko, a fighting game based in League of Legends, has dropped new information ahead of the next Alpha Lab. Some of the news confirms that its launch roster may be a little smaller than you would expect.
In a few Q&As following the recent video update, both fighting game content creators Sajam and 2XKO Discord (via VG247), Riot confirmed that there will be 10 playable champions (characters) at launch. According to game director Sean Rivera, fewer numbers sound like it helps you get 2xko in the hands of players faster.
“I know it seems less. I know. Trust me, we will hear it,” Rivera said in the stream of Sajam. “To be honest, we just want to put out the game to play as quickly as possible, rather than keeping it in the oven until there are a large number of champions.”
Rivera noted that there are “many ways” of different Hughes and solo/duo play systems where there are different ways to play characters on the roster. Plus, this is not a post-release static game.
“Add to that, we’re a live service game,” Rivera said. “So (The) Champion Train starts releasing those champions as we get out the door and start with your peers’ hands.
As executive producer Tom Cannon pointed out in the stream, these characters have seen some changes during development. He mentioned Jinx, who just got his gameplay showcase in yesterday’s video update:
Still, it’s a more prominent launch roster than most fighting games. For reference, Street Fighter 6 was released in 18 characters, with the Fellow Tag Fighter Dragon Ball Fighterz arriving with 24 people at the time of release. On the smaller side, the original release of Granblue Fantasy vers had 11 characters, while the Arcade version of the Guilty Gear XRD had 13.
League of Legends 2xko is a list of previously confirmed playable characters:
- Ahri
- echo
- Yasuo
- Darius
- I’m irritated
- Braum
- Jinx
Katarina was also seen in some footage at one point, but was cut out from the launch roster. Therefore, there are three champions left from the League of Legends ‘Titanic 170 champion lineup (as of January 2025) to be released before release.
It’s a surprisingly small number, but 2xko also impressed many players with its public release. The US, Canada and Brazil are planning a new Alpha Lab preview from April 18th to 20th, but no official launch date has been set yet.
Eric is an Passthecontroller freelance writer.
