2XKO is an upcoming free-to-play fighting game based on the extremely popular MOBA League of Legends; a genre that could not have less in common with fighting games. Despite this, Riot Games clearly wants to attract players who are completely unfamiliar with fighting games to 2XKO – and it mostly seems it’s succeeded. Brand loyalty is a powerful tool, which is doubtlessly why tens of thousands of League of Legends fans who were unable to get access to 2XKO’s recent Alpha Test flocked to Twitch instead, so they could watch people play it.
Fighting game laymen who were fortunate enough to play the Alpha Test were very vocal about their struggle in getting to grips with it, however, even though Riot Games has gone out of its way to make 2XKO one of the most beginner-friendly fighting games I’ve ever played. Combo length and matchmaking were chief among the complaints, with fighting game amateurs critiquing 2XKO for throwing them into lobbies against better players who were capable of pulling off one-hit kill ‘touch of death’ combos.
Project L Is Now 2XKO Watch on YouTube
This is a tale as old as time for members of the fighting game community (FGC). A new fighting game attached to a popular franchise releases, and the community is neatly divided exactly down its middle. On one side, you have those who are familiar with FGC fundamentals and terminology. They come equipped with the transferable knowledge they’ve cultivated over years of familiarity with the genre, so while they may have never played the exact game in question, they’ve likely played something similar to it in the past.