At least two major PS5 games released in January 2026 have already bombed, leading to layoffs and debates over development choices. Both 2XKO and Highguard failed to woo players over, and within days of each other, the games lost a good chunk of their dev teams.
PS5 games 2XKO and Highguard looked promising, but they bombed almost right away
2XKO is a free-to-play fighting game based on the massively popular League of Legends. But having a big name attached to it didn’t help. Despite being a free offering, 2XKO failed to garner support on consoles, forcing Riot Games to significantly scale down its development team.
“After a lot of discussion and reflection, we are reducing the size of the 2XKO team,” Riot said earlier this week. “The decision wasn’t made lightly. As we expanded from PC to console, we saw consistent trends in how players were engaging with 2XKO. The game has resonated with a passionate core audience, but overall momentum hasn’t reached the level needed to support a team of this size long term.”
Fast forward to today, reports started trickling in that Highguard developer Wildlight Entertainment laid off most of its staff, following which an official statement confirmed the layoffs.
For those who don’t remember, Highguard got a significant slot at The Game Awards 2025, with many in the industry lauding the free-to-play shooter as something groundbreaking ahead of its release.
Player reception, however, was brutal.
This news follows Overwatch’s attempt to win players back, going as far as dropping “2” from the game’s title last week (we’re not sure how that helps, though).
Understandably, these developments have renewed debates about the relentless pursuit of live service.
To be clear, the issue isn’t with the live service model itself. Arc Raiders and Battlefield 6 both did well in 2025. But players are right in arguing that the industry is out of touch with its audience.
What do our readers think?
