The Playtests that Changed 2XKO

Welcome back to the Weekend Warmup.

This week, I got thinking about all the playtests we’ve run on 2XKO. Whether it’s with devs, event attendees, seasoned players, or even folks who have never played a fighting game, pre-release playtests offer our teams the best insight on how to make the game better.

Our research team has run dozens of 2XKO playtests with players in scientific conditions—testing new champion kits, core rules changes, onboarding, skins and avatars, etc. This is the normal course of business for Riot. When combined with designer intent and raw numbers, being able to put fresh hands on sticks to figure out what’s working with players completes the picture, and helps us make more informed decisions.

But first-touch experience and balance aren’t the only reasons we playtest. Sometimes we have specific objectives we need to hit that can really only be achieved by folks playing the video game for a while as a group. Here are some of my favourites from the archives (not a complete timeline):

The first duo playtest

Months after everyone was sent to work from home during lockdown, the team had the foresight to record the first ever dev playtest featuring duo play and it is pure chaos. Despite the high latency, the overlapping comms, champs staying on the screen for too long, and immediate sandwich infinites, this was the moment the team realised that duo play had real potential. Here’s a snippet with some highlights.

GAT origins

When 2XKO’s core gameplay was taking shape and we were happy with its direction, we invited a few players who are entrenched in the tag fighter/anime FG genre to push the game to its absolute limits across four days so we could sand down the rough edges (think easy-to-access infinites, unintuitive tag interactions) that we wouldn’t have been able to catch with a shorter playtest, or with less-familiar players.

Sure enough, they found some grime. One example below features game director Unconkable on commentary. 

We used the time to validate some of our assumptions about 2v2 among a high-skill cohort. Day two of the test was focused on duo play, and on day four, we were pleasantly surprised to see an even split of solo and duo players enter an impromptu tournament. Because it was blind entry, one stalwart duo unintentionally broke up—one half of the duo wanted to go it alone! The remaining player partnered up with someone else, and the two teams ended up running into each other in the bracket with the new duo coming out on top. These narratives were exciting to witness.

The fairytale grand finals ended up as a duo vs a solo, which was another treat (unless your name is ApologyMan). 

Many of the players from this playtest became our Gameplay Analysis Team, or GAT. 

Pre-Evo FGC check-in

On the eve of our first Evo showing, we needed to get a gut check with the community, particularly around the work we’d done toward duos. We hosted a two-day summit at Riot LAX focused on sparking the FGC’s curiosity, getting them hands-on time, and sharing good vibes. We got great feedback from this crew and it showed us some of the overall strengths and weaknesses with 2X’s duo gameplay. We hosted a mini tournament on the final day, which, predictably, SonicFox ended up taking (while I photobombed their win moment, whoops).

I also remember the Grand Finals—with improvised Yipes commentary—ran like an hour long, so game pacing definitely went on the to-do list after this one.

The Riot local

As the game got closer to launch, testing got more specific. In preparation for Alpha Lab, we took the game to Riot’s internal FGC to host a simulated local—this was a test of build stability, but also using our social features in a realistic environment. Some will call it rigged, but playtest operator Riot CostcoLover took home the W versus a very coordinated duo hailing from League and Enterprise Engineering. Among other things, we knew fullscreen spectate was something we needed with the next release, but this validated that 2XKO was super fun to watch in a crowd.

Test, learn, repeat

These are just a handful of playtests that nudged us toward changes to the game, but learning and iterating is a constant journey. Sometimes, feedback we received would be a cut-and-dry upgrade, but some player feedback is a matter of interpretation—if we acted, would we be solving the symptom or the cause? Would this go against our designers’ intent?

Those decisions get challenged when the game releases for real—expanding the amount of people hammering the game with every combination of setup, skill, and sauce—and being live to millions of people is a whole ‘nother game of managing rates of change.

Lastly, we often have to make choices with global players in mind, while some player needs are localised and regional. For instance, did you know many Korean 2XKO players rebind their keyboard layouts to look more like a MOBA’s? Isn’t that cool? Honestly, I just wrote this whole article to share that anecdote.

If you have ever played 2XKO, know that you have in some way helped make this game better, and we’re very grateful for your time and effort.

Upcoming Dates

• Sep 3: Lux gameplay reveal
• Sep 8: Patch 1.3.1 live (with Lux)
• Oct 3-4: First Attack (2XKO Challenger event)
• Oct 9-11: Evo France (2XKO Major event)
• Late Oct: Patch 1.3.3 live (with Samira)
• Nov 21-22: Battle Coliseum (2XKO Major event)
• Nov 27-29: MINDSET 2026 (2XKO Challenger event)
• (Optional) Early Dec: Patch 1.3.5 (bug fixes only)

Closing Thoughts

Demacia’s ray of sunshine has been revealed, so we can’t wait for you to get your hands on Lux next week! We’ll be a little quiet through September (there’s kind of an awkward gap before First Attack) but we’re still working away on Patch 1.3.3 in late October. 

In the meantime, who else do you want to hear from in the Weekend Warmup? I’ve still got a few more of these to write and if we can make it to 30 episodes (this is #22) I think I can pitch it as a full anime arc. 

—@draggles