What's Happening in Fighting Games This Week

Welcome back!

We had a big week in the fighting game community, and we're looking at three stories.

2XKO, less than a month after launching, shrank its development team. Capcom backtracked on an unpopular decision to bring the Capcom Cup closer to fans worldwide. Lastly, Tekken 8 pros revealed their wish lists on what they want to see in Season 3.

Let's waste no time and break them down!

Paul

Riot Games announced Tuesday (Feb. 9) that it was reducing the size of the 2XKO development team, a mere three weeks after launching the game globally.

Player engagement fell below expectations, causing the decision to cut team members, the company published in a statement released Feb. 9. Riot didn't reveal how many developers lost their jobs, but those impacted will receive at least six months of notice pay and severance.

"As we expanded from PC to console, we saw consistent trends in how players were engaging with 2XKO," said Tom Cannon, 2XKO producer. "The game has resonated with a passionate core audience, but overall momentum hasn't reached the level needed to support a team of this size long term."

Game development saw its fair share of development team reductions, but it's the timing of Riot's decision that made this concerning. The game released January 20-21, 2026, raising significant concerns about the game's future.

This isn't the first time that FGC fans have seen a fighting game launch, only to see its resources cut after player counts don't reach its estimates. Games like Marvel v. Capcom Infinite and DNF Duel are the most recent examples of this happening.

When I spoke with LCS Commissioner Mark Zimmerman in January, which you can read in Issue #3 of Inside Esports, 2XKO was one of the possible entry points for fans to get into the world of League of Legends and the Riot Games ecosystem.

Regardless, Riot, through its statement, reiterated that its plans for a competitive ecosystem remained unchanged. 2XKO is one the games listed on EVO Japan and EVO's lineups.

"Our plans for the 2026 Competitive Series are unchanged. We remain committed to partnering with tournament organizers and local communities," the statement read.

To trust or not to trust, Riot?

None of this, however, eases the skepticism about long-term content, new characters, and post-launch support with a smaller team.

Riot said the team will make "key improvements to the game, including some of the things we've already heard you asking for."

That's not silencing the naysayers and doubters. Riot's next moves will determine if it can rebound from this loss of trust with an announcement coming three weeks after its launch.

I remain cautiously optimistic.

Riot Games continues to support Legends of Runeterra, the company's attempt at digital collectable card game. It remains Riot's least popular game by streaming standards with an estimated 634,000 followers of the game for streams and, as of Thursday night, less than 10 overall viewers on Twitch. By comparison, 2XKO tends to have more viewership on days when local venues stream tournaments, but it has roughly 11,000 followers on Twitch.

The question isn't if Riot will continue to support the game's development, but how dedicated they remain to making it a positive experience for fighting game community. That's why it's vital for the FGC to support this game with a strong but mighty fanbase. Fighting games take a while to build a non-hardcore fan base. Even the most popular games in the genre tend to struggle attracting new players, but if Riot can grow the game and move it into the right direction, players will do the marketing.

The next year will be make or break for 2XKO. I have little to no doubt that the game will see a Year 2.

That doesn't mean I won't pay attention to how Riot supports the game and, more importantly, how the players react.

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Tekken 8's tumultuous second season came to an exciting but thankful end with the conclusion of the Tekken World Tour Finals in Malmo, Sweden on Feb. 1.

 "Season 2 was a nightmare for everyone, right?" Tekken veteran and coach Anthony "JackieTran" Tran said.

Naturally, the turn of a new season has players making wish lists like a child to Santa.

I spoke to four players about what they want to see in Season 3 regarding the slew of issues, ranging from balance, design choices, and mechanics.

Below are a list of three things that professionals want to see when Season 3 launches on March 17.

The Heat System remains one of the core issues that players want to see adjusted when the season launches in March.

Southern California professional player Dr.TheJakeman wished for the mechanic to be tweaked in terms of how it affects combos and how characters can regain time on their heat bar.

"I would love to see system changes to heat and combo mechanics," he said. "Remove heat regeneration completely, it's so unnecessary."

Experienced pro Joseph "JoeyFury" Bennett said that matches have taken on a predictable loop with how the heat system synergizes with a long combo carry that results in high amounts of damage.

"Both players fish for a launch. If they get one, they immediately activate heat to assure their combo carries to the wall," Bennett said. "Once at the wall, they attempt to quickly close out the round via the synergy of heat plus wall pressure."

Tekken 8's development team created the Heat System to evolve from Tekken 7's Rage Art and Rage Drive. Two seasons in, players are finding more issues than benefits when it comes to one of Tekken 8's key mechanics.

In Season 2, Tekken 8 introduced new moves to characters. The issue? Most were broken and created a never-ending loop of holding block and praying for an opening.

Tekken professional and Red Bull athlete Jeannail "cuddle_core" Carter adjusted her approach throughout Season 2 discovering ways to find openings as the changes occurred. The adjustments and hard work through the years paid off, as Carter finished in the top 16 at the Tekken World Tour Finals Last Chance Qualifiers in Sweden. She didn't mind the moves being added, but cited the problem of "bloating," where new frame data changed how moves work in battle.

"If you're going to put moves in the game, make sure it's not over bloating," Carter said. "The properties and frames on the new moves added in Season 2 created a lot of bloating and having to learn more frames. Sometimes you have to hold certain frame advantage because it was that plus. They have to tone that stuff down."

Taylor "FearOfSilence" Cummings praised Season 2 for its movement improvement, but none of that mattered because of the new moves and adjustments to other moves.

"Really powerful moves that track or are homing that are advantageous on block really nullified the movement buffs they implemented," Cummings said.

Tekken 8 professionals and competitive players spend countless hours learning frame data and how moves interact with each other. But when the moves added little offensive variety and made defense almost nonexistent, even with improved movement.

Arguably the biggest thing that Season 2 created was a fundamental design flaw in the world of fighting games.

"Season 2 is characterized by options that yield massive reward with little risk," Bennett said. "It's against basic fighting game design principles to have moves with extremely limited counter play, massive reward, and sometimes a continuation into plus-frames if blocked. There are many problematic aspects."

Ultimately, everything the professional players and competitive scene has complained about all revolves around this core complaint. Fighting games, or any game design, balances risks and reward. Imagine if you can constantly launch the most powerful attack but not waste any stamina or lose speed with it in a single player game. That's where risk-reward comes in.

Sure, overpowered moves will creep through, but it's when a game properly walks this line, it tends to be a more enjoyable experience for all. Season 2 allowed players to throw out rewarding moves with little consequence, which tipped the scales too heavily.

Bennett's observation about matches and games playing out similarly displays how Season 2's design forced players to play similar styles and limiting player expression.

Bandai Namco already promised that Tekken 8 will return to basics and adjust things. The question is will they keep their promise this time around? Season 2 promised better defense and movement. It delivered that with a larger overhaul to offensive gameplay.

The Tekken 8 community isn't asking for an overnight fix. Rather, it wants a game it can feel good about playing.

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When Capcom announced that the Capcom Cup (the Street Fighter 6 World Championship) would be broadcast on PPV with a $27 price tag to watch the events, fans, players, and media vocalized their displeasure of having to pay for a high-level game tournament without the ability to restream and share experiences with community.

Capcom listened and Capcom Head of Esports Division Tetsuya Tabuchi confirmed Feb. 12 in a video announcement on X that they were adjusting the cost and rules about streaming the event.

"We sincerely apologize for taking time to announce this. After the initial announcement, we carefully listened to feedback from everyone and had careful discussions internally at Capcom," Tabuchi said. "We researched global content pricing and cost of living to set a price that would make it easier for people in regions around the world to watch."

Viewers can now pay for a two-day bundle to watch the finals for ¥1,500, which comes close to around $10.

Capcom initially priced the pay-per-view based on the cost of Street Fighter League Grand Final tickets. That resulted in a negative reaction, prompting the company to research prices across regions after finding that the prices were too expensive for a global audience.

Viewers can pay ¥900 ($6) for one day, or the ¥1,500 for both final days, which will take place March 14-15.

The group stage matches (March 11-13) remained free on YouTube and Twitch, but the biggest change Capcom made was toward its rules on co-streaming the event. Creators can co-stream those stages with their communities for those days.

The goal is simple: have the co-streamers convert interested fans into paying customers for the finals.

"We want the global Street Fighter community to enjoy the tournament in various ways," Tabuchi said.

Street Fighter 6 producer Shuhei Matsumoto revealed during the video that development and esports teams are working on providing better accessibility for viewers and players.

 "The development team and esports team are working together to support esports from within the game itself," Matsumoto said. "We want players to enjoy watching the tournament inside the game."

The team is implementing a live streaming feature that will broadcast the finals within the game's Battle Hub. There will be a few limitations such as viewer caps and no commentary.

Viewers who buy a pay-per-view ticket will receive an exclusive Rashid color cosmetic.

"It's super cool, I want you to get it," Matsumoto said. "Buy a viewing ticket and let's all support the players together!"

It's this collaboration and openness to making adjustments that shows Capcom's overall commitment to the game's fans and players.

Three fighting games. Three stories. Three ways to handle concerns.

Riot Games must prove its commitment to the product over the next year. Bandai Namco needs to regain player and competitive trust in Season 3. Capcom has shown that listening to fans, no matter how small, can make big waves.

All three are facing different problems, but each will shape how fighting games should work in 2026.

At the end, all it comes down to how each game builds to the next stage.

The FGC will be watching closely.

If you love fighting games, you will love Tuesday's issue where I chatted with CuddleCore over a variety of topics, ranging from her Last Chance Qualifier performance to getting her own customized jersey from Red Bull.

See you next time.

- Paul

P.S. Which of these three stories matters most to you? Hit reply and let me know.