Riot's Marc Merrill calls in-development MMO 'the grail' after 2XKO cancellation

GG Brief Editorial Desk · AI-assisted, source attributed

At Pax West 2026, Riot co-founder and CPO Marc Merrill spent about an hour discussing the studio’s history and future projects, briefly addressing the company's in-development MMO and the recently ended fighting game 2XKO. Merrill framed the MMO as a long-sought internal objective and tied it to the team's responsibility to meet player expectations. 2XKO, a free-to-play fighting game released earlier this year, received a sudden end-of-development announcement; a reveal trailer for the character Lux was released after that announcement. Merrill emphasized execution as the critical challenge for the MMO but did not present a development timeline or launch details.

• What happened: Merrill, speaking at Pax West 2026 alongside Greg Miller, referred to Riot’s in-development MMO as a long-sought internal goal while also addressing the recent cancellation of the free-to-play fighting game 2XKO.
• Why it matters: The company publicly framed the MMO as a major internal priority and linked its success to meeting players’ expectations and strong execution by the development team.
• Context: Marc Merrill is a Riot co-founder and current CPO; 2XKO launched earlier this year and was announced to be ending development, with a Lux reveal trailer released after the end-of-service announcement.
• What next: Riot did not provide confirmed release timing or concrete production details for the MMO during the Pax West remarks; those specifics are not yet confirmed.