2XKO has announced the introduction of an offline mode where all champions will be unlocked, much to the delight of grassroots tournament organizers. These organizers, eager to host events, have often been put off by the hassle of unlocking all champions on multiple accounts.
The news came to light during a community tour in France earlier this month, where 2XKO executive producer Tom Cannon made the announcement during a Q&A session. Initially hesitant, Cannon eventually decided to go ahead and reveal the plan, exclaiming, “Yeah, why not,” as he shared the details.
Cannon acknowledged the struggles faced by organizers, stating, “I know it can be a pain to set up everything during a tournament. We want to make it easy for you. You should be able to run a tournament offline without jumping through hoops to unlock champions.”
To make this possible, Cannon explained, “You’ll be able to play offline. I hope that’s not a spoiler,” he added with a laugh. The idea is to provide tournament organizers with the ability to have all champions available without needing to grind for them. While other content like skins may not be accessible offline, the game itself will be playable at tournaments, which is the main attraction.
Supporting grassroots tournaments is a priority, and Cannon expressed interest in hearing from organizers about how this feature works for them and what could be improved.
For those dedicated few organizing competitions, this is a game-changer. Always-online games face significant challenges in these environments, where stable internet is crucial and often expensive. Moreover, without having to unlock characters manually across numerous accounts, organizers can save time and resources, ensuring the game remains competitively viable.
However, there are still questions on how this new offline mode will coexist with Vanguard Anti-Cheat—Riot Games’ ever-present anti-cheat system. Vanguard operates with kernel-level access, launching as soon as your computer boots up, and can’t be disabled when playing Riot Games titles. If 2XKO’s offline mode runs through the Riot Games launcher like its Alpha Lab tests, there could be complications with Vanguard.
While we’ve reached out to Riot Games for clarification, they have yet to respond at the time of publication.
Nevertheless, this offline mode is an exciting feature for the hardcore community eager to compete offline. It’s likely to remain somewhat exclusive, reserved mainly for certified tournament organizers, since 2XKO is free-to-play and needs to maintain its revenue streams.
We’ll wait for further updates about this offline mode. What are your thoughts on this development? Share your opinions below!