Fighting Games Friday: Hold That 2XKO L

Riot Games’ Project L has been a long time in coming, considering it started as an entirely different game before the company absorbed the development team to create a League of Legends-branded fighting game. It’s been slowly coming together over the years, morphing from a one-on-one title to a tag-team fighting game that works as a fusion between Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Street Fighter x Tekken in terms of its tempo. The game has now finally received a name that’s not Project L, one that was always a clear codename in lieu of something catchier. Something snazzier.

I guess they couldn’t come up with one, because the name they’ve gone with is 2XKO, which… well, I don’t know. Maybe it was created through a newfangled naming scheme that goes over the head of an old(-ish) fogey like me, one that appeals to the younger crowd and influencers that play League of Legends for the stream-watching crowds. If so, that’s an audience I haven’t seen comments from, because all I’ve found is criticism for what the hell this name is supposed to be, and how you’re supposed to pronounce it.

My guess was that it was pronounced “two times KO,” since the game involves primarily two-on-two fights in which one or two players on one side will win after the other two fighters are KO’d. That would make sense, but that’s not what they’ve gone for. I certainly didn’t guess that it would be “two ecks KO,” which doesn’t make ostensible sense and sounds awfully (and hilariously) reminiscent of Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever. The latter is the actual pronunciation, as confirmed by executive producer Tom Cannon through the newest development update video.

Cannon believes the name will grow on the fanbase over time, but that’s another matter I’m not so sure about. The pronunciation will undoubtedly be fully ingrained by the time tournament demonstrations roll around, but the fact that anyone needed an initial pronunciation guide is an early mess. It’s a surprising predicament considering Riot has been pretty good with naming the other League of Legends spinoffs like Ruined King and Legends of Runeterra, alongside mobile LoL version Wild Rift. This one is more perplexing.

Riot confirmed that 2XKO (sorry, but this is going to take serious adjusting) is targeting 2025, and is set to arrive on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC. Cannon reminded fans that the game will have rollback netplay for the best connections, to ensure that the WiFi Warriors won’t be a problem — though that’s less of a problem, considering connections that aren’t as strong for online opponents will still fluctuate wildly for non-wired connections.

It’s a pity that no new characters were confirmed alongside this announcement, though the roster is bound to be larger than Ahri, Ekko, Darius, Illaoi, Yasuo, Katarina, and Jinx, the last of whom mysteriously hasn’t been shown in action for a good while. Remember that this will be a free-to-play experience, which means the starting roster won’t be as large as other fighting games. Considering LoL’s continued popularity after so many years, I’m having a hard time seeing this game failing, and all the feedback they’ve taken suggests the game will turn out well. It may not stop Riot from continuing to join hands with other gaming companies by making more layoffs, however.

Meanwhile, Ed is coming to Street Fighter 6 on February 27th, next Tuesday. He’s coming with a move set and a series of combos that appears to be redesigned from the ground (or street) up. Several characters, of course, have been modified to fit the unique systems that this Street Fighter game presents, but Ed in particular looks entirely different. He’ll still come with enough familiarity that anyone who played him before should still pick him up after a bit of hands-on time after he arrives.

I’m also interested in the stage he’ll come with, the Ruined Lab, a fallen Shadaloo lab with a red hat on a chair in the background and an apparent body in a tube. Could that be… do you think that might… nah, there’s no way they’d revive M. Bison again, right?

Just kidding. They will absolutely revive Bison if they need him. We’ll see if that happens.

Since next week will be the week for new characters coming to fighting games, Peacemaker will make his way to Mortal Kombat 1. He looks to be a faithful replication of the character from The Suicide Squad and titular Peacemaker live-action series, with John Cena reprising the role. He’s going to have some fun banter with the other characters on the roster, as the trailer demonstrates, and Cena does a better job than the other celebrity voice talent in the game.

Ermac, Homelander, and Takeda remain for the DLC characters in MK1. It’s possible Homelander will arrive in June, alongside the arrival of The Boys’ fourth season. But that might invite unflattering voiceover comparisons considering reports that Antony Starr isn’t reprising the role in the game. But it’s possible NetherRealm Studios and Warner Bros. Games are feeling brave too.