Publisher Riot Games has confirmed it will extend its start.gg Community Events Support programme for tag-team fighting game 2XKO through the end of 2027.
The decision comes despite the developer’s earlier announcement that it will cease active game development, official community initiatives, and character releases for the title at the end of 2026.
Riot is then handing control over to the players and independent organisers, using the start.gg to give players in-game rewards so Fighting Game Community (FGC) events stay active, while completely cutting their own development and official broadcast costs.
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Riot previously disclosed that 2XKO’s ongoing operating expenses substantially exceeded its generated revenue, with player engagement staying flat despite major content updates. After evaluating alternative operational models, such as altering patch schedules or reducing live-service team sizes, the publisher opted to complete its planned 2026 content pipeline before halting active development.
Addressing the operational trajectory of the title, 2XKO Esports Product Lead Ben Goldhaber confirmed that while internal developer support and official content cycles will terminate at the end of 2026, servers will remain online and playable.
To cushion the impact of its operational withdrawal on local tournament organisers, Riot’s extended start.gg integration will allow third-party operators to continue offering automated in-game rewards across approved local and online brackets throughout 2027. Under the programme, participating players link their Riot and start.gg accounts to unlock cosmetic titles, avatar outfits, and in-game credits by competing in community tournaments.
Riot then effectively provides independent organisers with continuous marketing leverage to drive bracket attendance without requiring direct financial grants or broadcast production funding from the publisher.
By leveraging automated platform integrations like start.gg to maintain community prizing while eliminating core development and official broadcast liabilities, Riot effectively transfers the long-term competitive stewardship of 2XKO to the grassroots community. The strategy allows the publisher to maintain goodwill within the broader fighting game space while refocusing internal engineering capital onto its primary franchises.
