The Playtests that Changed 2XKO

Summary

Welcome back to the Weekend Warmup.
This week, I got thinking about all the playtests we’ve run on 2XKO. Whether it’s with devs, event attendees, seasoned players, or even folks who have never played a fighting game, pre-release playtests offer our teams the best insight on how to make the game better.
Our research team has run dozens of 2XKO playtests with players in scientific conditions—testing new champion kits, core rules changes, onboarding, skins and avatars, etc. This is the normal course of business for Riot. When combined with designer intent and raw numbers, being able to put fresh hands on sticks to figure out what’s working with players completes the picture, and helps us make more informed decisions.
But first-touch experience and balance aren’t the only reasons we playtest. Sometimes we have specific objectives we need to hit that can really only be achieved by folks playing the video game for a while as a group. Here are some of my favourites from the archives (not a complete timeline):

The first duo playtest

Months after everyone was sent to work from home during lockdown, the team had the foresight to record the first ever dev playtest featuring duo play and it is pure chaos. Despite the high latency, the overlapping comms, champs staying on the screen for too long, and immediate sandwich infinites, this was the moment the team realised that duo play had real potential. Here’s a snippet with some highlights.

GAT origins

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