PS5/Xbox owners: 5 ways to ease into 2KXO

After much anticipation, 2XKO is now available on PS5 and Xbox Series S/X. The 2v2 title by Riot Games has brought back the tag-team mechanic in a big way recently, with games like Tekken 8 and Street Fighter 6 focusing strictly on 1v1 fights. But after several betas and its early access release in October 2025, Riot feels like 2XKO is ready for consoles.

If you’ve previously played 2XKO on PC, you’ll find the same game here, complete with 12 fighters, a few modes, a new season ready to play, and some great online matches to boot. Nevertheless, if you’re a new player to 2XKO, it’s essential to learn the basics before jumping into an online match. Below are our five ways to start the game with a bang.

Admittedly, not much has changed since our initial impressions of 2XKO when it entered early access in October 2025. Riot has been tweaking the game with minor patches to balance out some fighters as the year wrapped up, with a bug involving Yasuo’s Turbulent Wind getting fixed in December.

However, with the console versions of 2XKO now out, Riot has marked this by revealing Season 1, complete with a new fighter called Caitlyn. Wielding a rifle, she looks to be a great character for performing attacks at long range. It should be interesting to see how she fares with players and whether her debut will shake up some established teams.

A big appeal of 2XKO is the number of fighters available with their unique attacks that can turn the tide in most matches. However, learning to defend can be far more important. Practice in blocking low-to-mid attacks first, followed by dodging the ultimate attacks – this way, you’ll be able to time them when it counts, avoiding getting hit with a lot of damage.

Defending and countering also means learning routines that other players will do, so you can eventually anticipate what could be coming next. Once you’re confident enough, start performing those attacks at the right moments, and soon enough, the match will go in your favour.

Starting with heavier characters can be a great way of getting to grips with 2XKO’s basics. These fighters usually have slower, more powerful attacks, meaning you have some extra time to learn how the timings and flow of a match usually work. These also require fewer button presses, so you can see how much damage some attacks deal in a quicker function.

These also have bigger defense capabilities, so some attacks by opponents could deal less damage, letting you focus more on blocking, assist attacks, and other mechanics that can make you feel more comfortable with 2XKO in the early days.

As 2XKO is a 2v2 fighting game, learning combos with both characters can be crucial. Instead of trying to follow long button presses to take off more than 30% of your opponent’s health, using short, reliable combos can give you the space needed to confidently pull off the complicated ones in time.

Using both characters equally means that you can switch it up with different characters in Practice mode to understand the 12-character roster better. Experimenting early on with these console ports means that you can quickly discover which fighters suit you best. In addition, by pairing up different characters, you’ll better understand who works best as the main fighter to play, and the other as an assist.

In 2026, a fighting game with a Discord server is standard, and for good reason. It can give new players a welcoming feel, and can provide some helpful advice from experienced players. 2XKO’s Discord Server is already huge, with roughly 85,000 members and a consistent 14,000 online, ready to meet new players.

Riot also likes to browse channels and chats to see whether new patches and content are being well-received or if they’ve introduced new bugs that need quashing. It’s the ideal place for new players, keeping you in the loop but also helping you learn techniques for some characters you’re yet to play as.

Granted, we lightly touched on this in learning basic combos with three characters, but trying out all 12 off the bat can bring lots of benefits. The freedom to pick Vi with Ekko, or Teemo with Caitlyn, can help you quickly understand how tags and assists work. In addition, you’ll learn which fighters with far-range attacks better complement one another with close-range ones, helping you know which fighters mix well and don’t mix well with one another.

The worst decision would be to select two fighters right away and stick with them. You’d miss out on learning which characters offer the greater advantages in moves, defence, and ultimate attacks. It’s the experimentation in 2XKO that will help you enjoy the game even more, and eventually, you’ll come to know the teams that fit your playing style.

Developer Riot has had a lot of success with League of Legends and VALORANT in the past decade, so, understandably, it has wanted to get 2XKO right before it arrived on consoles. But its fast-paced gameplay and great art style have always played in its favour, along with excellent communication on tweaking fighters so they’re not under or overpowered to play.

The debut of 2XKO on PS5 and Xbox Series S/X heralds the next step for the game, especially with the arrival of new fighter Caitlyn and Season 1. Fighting games on consoles have been around for decades, so it’s inevitable that new players will come to 2XKO with fresh eyes, having played other titles like Marvel vs Capcom, Tekken, Bloody Roar, and many more over the years. The real test is whether Riot can differentiate 2XKO enough to make it stand out from the rest on PS5 and Xbox Series S/X.