Riot exec says 2XKO needed hundreds of thousands to millions of MAU to sustain itself

Riot Games CPO Marc Merrill said 2XKO would have needed a monthly active user base "in the high hundreds of thousands, if not millions" to support its live-service model, and its actual audience was "not nearly enough." 2XKO ended active development in August because it cost substantially more to operate than it brought in and engagement stayed flat despite larger updates; it remains free to play on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S with servers online "beyond 2026." Merrill also cited Street Fighter 6's release as a factor and said leadership changes led to a lack of alignment on strategy and managerial fracturing.