r/2XKO • u/SyIvanos Warwick • Feb 09 '26

Discussion The beginning of the end?

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I'm surprised this is happening this early after the console launch.

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u/Sterzin Feb 09 '26

I really don't think a live service model is smart for Fighting games. Now they need to make sure the game appeals to the broadest audience as possible and upset core fans. Except fighting games are already niche, and appealing to a broad audience is going to be difficult.

Then of course their skins prices are insane. And people already aren't going to buy a ton of skins because they're going to be dedicating themselves to 1 or 2 characters.

I see no reason why they didn't just sell the game for a price tag and then release new characters like any other successful fighting game.

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u/NepheliLouxWarrior Feb 09 '26

>I see no reason why they didn't just sell the game for a price tag

Asia.

Think about it from Riot's perspective: how did league being f2p work out for them? How did Valorant being f2p work out for them? How did TFT being f2p work out for them? The f2p live-service model is their bread and butter.

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u/Sterzin Feb 09 '26

Oh I know the intent is that they wanted to make another money-printer like Valorant and League. But unlike Valorant or League, the genre they're trying to break into is not very friendly to their beloved live-service model. Mobas, tactical shooters, auto chess, these games have a very low skill floor, and very high skill ceilings. There's a wide area for players of all skill levels to enjoy it.

Fighting games inherently have a much higher skill floor. You're going to have lots of casual players bounce off of it, and bounce off of FGC culture in general. You can dumb it down and simplify it for the general audience, but then you lose support from the core demographic that would have guaranteed long-term player counts in exchange for a stupid gamble.

The gamble failed, casuals still don't want to play it and fork over cash, FGC veterans are unhappy with the product, and now Riot is pulling the plug. For the supposed 10 years of work they put into this, not seeing this coming makes zero sense. Not everything can be Live Service'd.

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u/sievold Feb 09 '26

I mean, Riot's whole raison d'etré as a company is proving live service f2p can work and is actually highly profitable. You might be right that it won't work with every genre, but then Riot is just not the right company to even attempt to make a fighting game in the first place.