2XKO is set to introduce an offline mode where all the champions will be unlocked right from the start. This feature aims to assist grassroots tournament organizers who are keen to set up events centered on the game but would rather skip the hassle of unlocking champions across numerous accounts.
During a community tour in France earlier this month, the 2XKO executive producer, Tom Cannon, shared this development in a group Q&A session. At first, Cannon seemed hesitant about revealing too much but then decided to go ahead and lay it out: “I know setting up multiple setups during a tournament can be quite the task. We don’t want to complicate things. We want organizers to be able to run a tournament offline, eliminating the need for jumping through hoops just to unlock champions.”
“So here’s what we’re offering. You’ll be able to play offline, not to jump the gun here (laughs). We’ll make it possible for you, as a tournament organizer, to have all champions unlocked without the grind. You might miss out on some extra content—like skins—but at least you’ll have the game ready for offline tournaments. That’s our key offering.”
“We’re committed to supporting grassroots tournaments, so we’re eager to hear feedback on how things roll out and what additional features might help,” he added.
For those few dedicated folks running fighting game competitions, this change is a major boon. An obligate online fighting game would face tough challenges in such settings. Tournament organizers would be tied to ensuring a stable internet connection and possibly incurring considerable expenses over days-long events. What’s more, eliminating the need to unlock new characters on multiple 2XKO accounts saves significant time and effort, which traditionally would involve manually unlocking new game content to maintain competitive integrity.
However, one burning question remains post-announcement: How will this offline mode align with Vanguard Anti-Cheat, Riot Games’ own always-online security measure? Given that Vanguard operates from startup with kernel-level access and is active during the operation of Riot Games titles like League of Legends and Valorant, there seems to be a potential conflict here. Assuming the offline mode launches via the Riot Games platform, just as current 2XKO Alpha Lab tests do, it will be interesting to see how they balance this.
We’ve reached out to Riot Games for clarification on this point but have yet to receive a response at the time of writing.
Still, this feature should excite hardcore fans who enjoy traveling to in-person events to compete against top players. From my perspective, and to add my two cents, I suspect this mode won’t be readily available to every player. Given 2XKO operates as a free-to-play title, certain revenue-generating aspects could limit this feature to verified tournament organizers.
We’ll need to stay tuned for further updates on this offline mode. What are your thoughts on it? Feel free to share below!
