During a live panel at EVO 2024, Riot Games unveiled its monetization plans for 2XKO. Executive producer Tom Cannon and game director Shaun Rivera addressed one of the most pressing questions surrounding the free-to-play title: how will it make money? Unsurprisingly, it’s skins and cosmetics.
Cannon began by addressing the core principle behind 2XKO‘s monetization strategy. He assured the audience that the game would remain truly free-to-play, with players able to compete at the highest level without spending any money. While Cannon acknowledged that earning characters would involve some effort, he emphasized that the process wouldn’t be overly tedious and that players would never need to pay for champions or power-ups to stay competitive.
So, how does Riot plan to generate revenue from 2XKO? “Shocker, we’re gonna have skins,” Cannon said, revealing the game’s primary monetization strategy. Following this, the team showcased Dynasty Ahri, a skin with model and visual effect changes. With the gameplay video vowing the audience, Cannon stressed the importance of quality, stating, “When we sell you something, we want it to be high quality. We want you to feel good about buying that thing.”
In addition to skins, 2XKO will feature various cosmetic items for purchase. These include stickers and chromas, which may also be obtainable through a battle pass system. The Dynasty Ahri skin will be unlockable through the first pass during the upcoming alpha labs playtest.
Rivera also chimed in to address potential concerns about gameplay integrity: “We will push ourselves with the skins, but if we ever make an addition that impacts gameplay in any way, you’ll tell us as the community, and we’ll pull back.”
While many details about 2XKO‘s monetization remain to be revealed, the panel promised more information in the upcoming months.
