Marc Merrill: 2XKO lacked the MAU base to sustain live-service model
The future of 2XKO, the fighting game from Riot Games, was hampered by the demands of the live-service model. Co-founder and co-chairman Marc Merrill stated that for the game to succeed, it would have required a monthly active user (MAU) base in the high hundreds of thousands, if not millions.
Speaking on The Lemonade Stand podcast, Marc Merrill explained that while the game resonated with some players, the audience was simply not large enough to support its intended ecosystem. Active development on 2XKO ended in August because operational costs significantly outweighed revenue, and player engagement remained relatively flat despite the release of larger updates.
Merrill also pointed to the release of Street Fighter 6 as a major external factor. Given that 2XKO had been in development for approximately eight years, the timing was suboptimal. According to the executive, an earlier release could have allowed the game to make a much more significant impact on the fighting game community.
Internal organizational issues also played a role. Merrill noted that following the 2016 acquisition of Radiant Entertainment—the studio behind Rising Thunder—the company faced leadership changes that led to a lack of strategic alignment. This resulted in what he described as "managerial fracturing," where the team received conflicting guidance. "We've got nobody to blame but ourselves," Merrill admitted.
Despite the end of active development, 2XKO remains free to play on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, with servers expected to remain online beyond 2026.
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