The Rogue Assassin and the Redeemer are joining 2XKO.
The next wave of fighters is officially on the way. Riot Games, the developer of 2XKO, the League of Legends fighting game, published a dev update on Saturday 14 February on the official 2XKO website.
In the post, Game Director and Gameplay Design Lead Shaun “Unconkable” Rivera outlined what’s next for the tag fighter, including confirmation that Akali and Senna are the next champions in development.
The post was shared under the banner “2XKO Update: What’s Next + New Champs”, with Rivera explaining the team would normally deliver the news face-to-face, but are currently “heads down” and wanted to “chat ASAP.”
Despite recent turbulence around the project, which resulted in a wave of layoffs among the 2XKO dev team, Rivera stressed that the team is “still fully committed and working hard on 2XKO,” adding that they are doubling down on building for the FGC that loves the genre.
Akali and Senna headline the 14 February 2026 2XKO update
Both champions were introduced as work-in-progress, but Riot offered early insight into their identities and playstyles.
League’s favourite Rogue Assassin, Akali is a highly mobile melee assassin who excels at taking down high-priority targets quickly. In the game’s lore, Akali is a former member of the Kinkou Order, a secretive group dedicated to maintaining balance, but she left to follow her own path as a ninja vigilante.
In 2XKO, Rivera described her as “a sharp, stylish ninja who cuts opponents down with deadly precision.” While no full kit breakdown was shared, the framing points toward a fast, execution-heavy fighter built around mobility and clean pressure, which could be a natural fit for 2XKO’s aggressive 2v2 format.
On the other hand, Senna is a marksman and support hybrid in League, combining long-range damage with healing and utility for her allies. Senna’s story is deeply tied to her mentor Lucian; she was trapped in the Curse of the Black Mist for many years before being freed, and now fights to rid the world of the Black Mist and protect the living from spirits.
In 2XKO, she “wields the power of light and shadow,” using a massive cannon to blast opponents before rushing them down in wraith form. That hybrid of ranged control and sudden close-range threat suggests she could offer flexibility in team compositions, whether setting up space for a partner or closing out exchanges herself.
Rivera added that more details on both champions will be shared later, and said the team is looking forward to players’ “hot takes and theorycrafting.”
Riot doubles down on core gameplay, duo play and competitive support
Beyond the headline reveals, the 14 February update revisited Riot’s three ongoing priorities: duo play, core gameplay, and community and competitive programmes.
On gameplay philosophy, Rivera addressed community discussion directly. The team loves that 2XKO is “fast-paced,” allowing “your reactions and creativity to shine while providing a ton of depth to dig into.” He also made it clear the high skill ceiling “is gonna stay.” Balance changes will continue to target meta outliers while preserving the “sauce” of each character, with clearer strengths and weaknesses across the cast as a goal.
A Local Duo Mode is currently being prototyped to make couch co-op more accessible. On the systems side, Riot is monitoring Ranked edge cases affecting fair matchmaking and working on an update to address screen tearing reported by console players. Yasuo and Ekko were also mentioned as powerful picks whose weaknesses are not yet clear enough at top-level play.
Competitively, the 2026 schedule is underway, with the next Challenger event set for Genesis X3 starting 13 February. Riot is also testing a new programme that would give local tournament organisers access to exclusive in-game prizing, with applications opening more broadly after initial trials.
More details on Akali and Senna will be shared by the devs when made available.
