'Our team is still fully committed and working hard on 2XKO' says Riot as it announces two new characters days after mass layoff announcement

Just a couple of days after announcing it was slashing the 2XKO team in half, Riot says it's "still fully committed and working hard" on the game, and to prove that? Two new characters and the promise to iron out some of its more glaring issues.

In a blog post titled "What's Next + New Champs," game director Shaun Rivera said that the team is "doubling down on building for the FGC that loves this genre." What that looks like for 2XKO—right now, anyway—is keeping things pretty much the same while cleaning up a few problem areas.

"We've seen the conversation about what our core gameplay could or should look like in the future, and we want to clear one thing up," Rivera said. "We love that 2XKO is fast-paced, allowing your reactions and creativity to shine while providing a ton of depth to dig into. The skill ceiling of this game is high, and that's where it's gonna stay.

"We'll continue making balance changes that hit outliers in the meta while keeping the sauce of every character. At a high level, we want every champion to have defined strengths and weaknesses, and right now that's not clear enough across all of the cast." Rivera specifically highlights Ekko and Yasuo as two of the "sauciest in the roster," noting that their "weaknesses aren't apparently enough at the highest level of play."

Rivera also says that it's still full steam ahead for 2XKO's competitive scene—its Challenger event at Genesis X3 took place over the weekend—and is even planning to add access to some "exclusive in-game prizing" at locals to "reward players for joining their local community." This is something I'm particularly fond of—locals are the lifeblood of the FGC, and finding ways to encourage folks to get out and get stuck in through in-game rewards is mighty enticing.

As for what's new, 2XKO is planning to throw in a local duos mode at some point in the future, which'll let two players team up couch co-op style. Right now that's something you can only do online, but Rivera says the team wants to make "that experience more accessible."

The blog post also, surprisingly, dropped two new character teasers. The first one is for Akali, who Rivera describes as "a sharp, stylish ninja who cuts opponents down with deadly precision." The second is Senna who can "blast enemies with a massive cannon, then rush them down in her wraith form."

The post shares some very small work-in-progress clips of both champs, though there's unfortunately no word on when either one will be added to the roster yet.

It certainly seems like Riot is determined to keep plugging away at 2XKO for now, even after its layoff announcement. I still can't help but be a little wary—I've no idea what the developer actually wants or expects out of this game, and there's certainly a small anxiety eating away at me that once all of the pre-prepared content dries up, there'll be nothing left on the docket.