2XKO console release is begging for couch co-op Duos

2XKO is a tag-team fighting game, like the upcoming Marvel Tokon, where you pick two characters for a single team and can then swap between them at will, or if you like, call them in for an assist on demand. 2XKO Duos takes that and then lets you play with a buddy, and it’s surprisingly compelling. Unfortunately, I think the biggest potential advantage of 2XKO Duos has yet to become a reality.

Despite Duos offering a versatile and user-friendly game mode that’s great for onboarding new players and giving veterans room to breathe, the lack of local co-op for 2XKO Duos seems like an obvious misstep. This is especially evident now that the 2XKO console release has finally arrived. Those playing on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S won’t be able to engage in couch co-op despite likely literally sitting on a couch.

Double the fun

2XKO Duos works similarly to playing a 2XKO match by yourself, except you’re splitting up the responsibilities. One of the players takes point and will launch into combat as the main fighter first, while the other is kept on the backline. The second player will choose when to come in for quick assist attacks, or when to initiate the combo-ending Break command.

It takes pressure off the initial fighter, letting them focus on delivering a major smackdown, and then, when both players decide it’s time to mix things up, you can tag out. This lets the non-active character heal up some of their damage, and means the opponent has to adapt to a completely different playstyle.

When I was playing 2XKO Duos with my friend/editor (hey boss!), she was able to lead the fights with well-practiced Vi, as she’d actually bothered to learn her combos and how best to lead fights. Then I’d swap in as Jinx, and engage in carefully curated chaos, forcing opponents to change up strategy on the fly.

It’s a really fun system that allows you to spectate and cheer on your teammate, without needing to spend too long on the sidelines. The ability to recover health encourages you to swap relatively often, and the benched player can even keep an eye on the UI so the active player doesn’t have to.

Couch co-op potential

Despite the lack of couch co-op, Duos is already great fun online, leaning into a style of fighting game that you don’t often see. On top of that, you can already see the potential it has for local multiplayer. Most fighting games often force 1v1 matches, meaning that only up to two players can scrap at any given time.

Obviously, you can take your different Riot Games accounts and link up online into a casual lobby and play against other players, but it’d be a joy to be able to do this from one device. Sit your friend down in the same place, with controllers on the same PS5, and take your coordination online.

Unfortunately, right now, 2XKO’s online functionality just doesn’t stretch that far. If you want to fight alongside your mate against other players, getting your fist bumps and coordinated custom handshakes in after your victories, you’d better hope they remembered to bring a gaming laptop over to your place.

It really feels like a missed opportunity when the 2XKO duo mode is so much fun. While it might be understandable that there might be issues getting this working in the ranked mode, it’s not even an option for private lobbies.

Saying this, it doesn’t look like many other fighting games have been able to manage this feat either. Other tag-team fighting games with co-op, like Street Fighter x Tekken, prefer to keep things local. 

While Super Smash Bros Ultimate lets you take a local guest online, it was never allowed into matchmaking. For 2XKO, matchmaking might be the key issue again.

Trying to have a fair and even playing field

In 2XKO, casual and ranked matches try to pair you with players of a similar skill level. Before you go online, you have to play some ranking matches, even for casual lobbies. It makes sense, as if you’re constantly getting destroyed by a Warwick professional, you’re not going to want to come back.

Going online with a friend in 2XKO Duos means that the game needs to manage both of your matchmaking ranks to keep things fun and fair across the board. Most online games have this juggling act, and it can sometimes be a pain if the game is trying to find an Overwatch 2 match for a team made up of Platinum and Bronze players.

If you’re trying to log on with a guest, there’s no way to track that extra player’s skill level. If you’re a decidedly mediocre casual player whose friend is gearing up for Evo 2026, you’d be ruining it for all of the others who only get a couple of matches in a week.

A more cynical mind would also say that monetisation is the culprit here. Why have one account unlocking all the characters when you could have two separate accounts that feed into the shop?

Realistically, though, coding is tough, and if none of the other major fighters are doing it, there’s probably a good reason why Riot Games isn’t. Still, if the 2XKO duo mode ever manages to push online couch co-op, you can be sure I’d take full advantage of it.

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