Riot Games Co-Founder Says 2XKO Needed ‘Hundreds of Thousands, if Not Millions’ of Monthly Active Players to Survive
The co-founder, co-chairman, and chief product officer of Riot Games, Marc Merrill, revealed the number of monthly active users 2XKO would have needed to justify its budget, and the eye-popping amount has sparked an animated debate within the fighting game community.
Riot Games co-founder Marc Merrill revealed that the fighting game 2XKO would have needed "hundreds of thousands, if not millions" of monthly active users to justify its development budget. Speaking on The Lemonade Stand, Merrill detailed how the game's failure and the timing of its release affected Riot's strategy. The release of Capcom's Street Fighter 6 in 2023, eight years after 2XKO's development began, diverted player interest and made it difficult for 2XKO to gain traction.
Merrill also noted that Riot lacked internal alignment on 2XKO's strategy, leading to confusion and managerial fracturing within the team. Ultimately, when the game failed to attract enough players, Riot issued full refunds and canceled further updates.
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