Riot Games, having ventured into the fighting games world with League of Legends and the auto-battler Teamfight Tactics, was preparing to introduce another game called 2XKO, which is currently in the testing phase. However, a second fighting game project named Pool Party was quietly canceled by Riot Games in May. So, what happened to the game?
Why did Riot Games cancel the fighting game project?
The canceled fighting game by Riot Games was designed as a Super Smash Bros-style game set in the League of Legends universe. Employees at Riot frequently discussed this game, mentioning that a team of 70-80 people was working on the project. When the project was canceled, half of the team was reassigned to other roles within the studio, while the remaining members either resigned or left the company.
Joe Hixson, Riot Games’ senior communications director, commented on the matter. Hixson stated, “There are always many projects in the research and development phase, and starting and stopping projects can happen multiple times throughout the year.”
The high-priced League of Legends skin pack prepared for the famous esports player Faker became a hot topic on social media.
The exact reason for the cancellation was not clearly stated. Rumors suggest that the company did not want to overwhelm users by constantly releasing fighting games. Although Super Smash Bros remains the most popular fighting platform game, Multiversus has also started to make its mark on the gaming scene.
Earlier this year, Riot Games laid off more than 500 employees due to budget cuts. The company made this decision to sustain ongoing projects. Riot Games’ new project, the fighting game 2XKO, is set to be released in 2025. Those interested in trying the game can now register online to play the alpha version.
