2XKO is the newest coming title from developers Riot Games. A free-to-play fighting game featuring League of Legends characters, Riot are attempting to make an explosive launch into the fighting game scene, as they did with shooters and Valorant. Streams Charts has a first-look at some of the viewership results for the game’s ongoing closed beta.
The 2v2 element of the game adds a strategic layer to the gameplay, with players switching in and out of roles, tag-team style. On top of how this effects gameplay, it also saw many streamers and content creators pair up, using their collective popularity to generate strong watch time for the newest entry to the fighting game scene.
Since the closed beta began, on September 9, the game has accumulated over 2,687,000 Hours Watched (HW) and enjoyed a peak of over 56,000 Peak Viewers (PV) on Twitch. The purple livestreaming platform saw the most activity for 2XKO, with a large chunk of the involved creators hailing from North America.
Compared to Riot Games’ previous release, Valorant, the reception for 2XKO has been rather lukewarm. On the opening day of Valorant’s closed beta, it received 19,100,000 HW on Twitch alone — on the third day alone it received 25,000,000 HW. 2XKO has enjoyed a much softer launch to the gaming scene, but shooters generally attract more attention than fighting games.
Across the top viewership for 2XKO, it remains true that the vast majority of top streamers hailed from North America. However, Swedish fighting game legend William “Leffen” Hjelte was the top broadcaster for the closed beta so far. Leffen built up his reputation in Super Smash Bros. Melee, but also competes across a variety of titles; his broadcasts for the title were especially popular, bolstered by his reputation as a strong player across various games.
Moving past Leffen, the majority of streamers for 2XKO were generally smaller broadcasters, popular within the fighting game communities. Some outliers include Maximilian “Maximilian_DOOD” Christiansen and Albert “boxbox” Zheng, both of whom boast more than a million followers. Alongside Spain’s Sergio “knekro” García and Ryan “NorthernLion” Letourneau, these were the biggest creators involved with the game’s launch.
Since it launched into closed beta, 2XKO has enjoyed a strong amount of viewership on Twitch in particular. On the purple platform, it ranked as the second-most-watched fighting game, falling only behind the world-leading Street Fighter 6. Impressively, it ranked ahead of Tekken 8, although it will be seen if 2XKO can maintain its viewership once the initial excitement of its closed beta wears off.
The game has been extensively marketed on Twitch, with official activations and partnerships with streamers linking for fans to sign up to the closed beta. These campaigns not only help Riot Games gauge interest for their upcoming release, but also drum up some hype and excitement leading up to when it officially hits shelves — metaphorically.
Riot Games’ newest release to the gaming industry has not managed to match the same hype as Valorant’s closed beta, but 2XKO is nevertheless an interesting addition to the fighting game scene, and one that has been welcomed by its fans. With tens of thousands having already tuned in to 2XKO, expect many more to check out the title as it releases officially, and expands to other platforms like consoles.
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