According to Mikhail Klimentov, journalist at the Washington Post, at the end of May Riot Games cancelled the development of a platform fighting game code-named Pool Party. The game was to be "in the vein of Super Smash Bros. Melee", but in the League of Legends universe. The publisher saw this as a an opportunity to conquer the Smash scene by investing in its competitive circuit. And with good reason, as Nintendo have made a series of decisions in recent months that have been hostile to the development of the scene (cancellation of the Smash World Tour, stricter rules for tournaments, etc.).

No consequences for 2XKO

Riot reportedly finally got cold feet and rushed the decision following what the company sees as the failure of MultiVersus, another Smash competitor featuring characters from franchises owned by Warner Bros, which was officially released at the end of May 2024 after two years in open beta. Pool Party was initially conceived as a hardcore fighting game, but later took a direction more favourable to more casual players, which frustrated some of the staff working on the project.

"We always have a number of projects in various phases of R&D, and spinning projects up and down happens multiple times a year" explained Joe Hixson, senior director of communications at Riot Games, in a statement. The cancellation of Pool Party in no way affects the development of Riot's other - 2v2 - fighting game, 2XKO, which is scheduled for release in 2025.

According to the journalist, between 70 and 80 people were working on the development of this game. Half of them have been offered a new job within the studio, while others are still looking for a new position within the company. Ten, on the other hand, have reportedly not received a job offer and are not looking for a new position internally. "Presumably, those workers were either laid off or had left the company", writes Mikhail Klimentov.