Dragon Ball FighterZ vs 2XKO: Which tag fighter is king?

Dragon Ball FighterZ and 2XKO are heavy hitters in the fighting game community and the tag fighter genre at opposite ends of their life cycles. Both have massive IPs behind them, and both make a big deal out of their tag-team mechanics. On paper, they are similar, but what makes the 2XKO vs Dragon Ball FighterZ debate interesting is their differences and what implications they have for the player’s experience.

With 2XKO being in early access and Dragon Ball FighterZ seemingly finding a new lease of life in 2025, the pair are in polar opposite situations. It becomes a comparison between a potential juggernaut in the fighting game community and a veteran title that has been around the block.

Bearing that in mind, we’re breaking down how Dragon Ball FighterZ and 2XKO compare with each other and scoring them out of 10 to see which emerges victorious.

While both are 2D tag-team fighters, the games have a few key mechanical differences that vastly change how they play. The most obvious difference is that 2XKO has teams of two, while Dragon Ball FighterZ has trios. This makes team composition a larger factor in FighterZ, even though both are six-button fighters.

That doesn’t mean they feel similar to play. Dragon Ball FighterZ is far more chaotic and oppressive, faster-paced, and mechanically more complicated. While both have auto-combos, 2XKO is the better option for beginners, especially since everyone is still getting to grips with the game, whereas FighterZ is for veterans.

Counter-intuitively, FighterZ is also the more refined game despite its chaos — essentially because 2XKO is currently in early access. 2XKO shows a lot of promise with its fluidity and style; however, with FighterZ imitating some of the best scenes in Dragon Ball for many supers, and Arc System Works’ incredible flair for the dramatic, it’s tough for any game to integrate cinematic elements as well as FighterZ does.

Both also have rollback netcode, as expected of 2D fighters. 2XKO has been praised thus far for its online stability, while there have been some issues throughout FighterZ’s run. Given that 2XKO is in early access, online stability isn’t the simplest to compare, but it is an instance where 2XKO comes out ahead.

Dragon Ball Fighterz score: 9/10
2XKO score: 7/10

Fighting games aren’t typically known for their game modes, and just getting out of the 2XKO closed beta doesn’t help it. Still, Dragon Ball FighterZ doesn’t offer a whole lot more. Both have a practice mode, several online game modes, and tutorials, but where FighterZ comes out on top is the single-player content.

Dragon Ball FighterZ has an arcade and story mode, both reasonably standard in fighting games. It’s nothing to write home about, and the game doesn’t have silly mini games like Tekken Ball, but the ranked grind tends to be what keeps fighting game players hooked. Still, this is an open-and-shut victory for FighterZ.

Dragon Ball Fighterz score: 6/10
2XKO score: 5/10

While League of Legends has well over a hundred champions, 2XKO has kept its collection small. There are currently 11 2XKO characters in its roster, and this number will increase over time. That’s not many characters, especially in a subgenre known for massive all-star rosters. Smaller rosters do have some upsides, such as being easier to learn, but with all the champions in League of Legends, the 2XKO roster isn’t going to stay small.

By contrast, there are so many Dragon Ball FighterZ characters to the point of near absurdity. There are more Gokus than you can shake a stick at, with 45 characters in total. This is great for an all-star spin-off fighting game like FighterZ, since fans can more than likely play their favourite DBZ character, which might not be the case for LoL fans using their main in 2XKO.

The downside of such a large roster is how difficult it is to balance. Balance has been a persistent issue with FighterZ and is something 2XKO is trying to iron out in early access, but given the state of the two games, FighterZ takes the edge again.

Dragon Ball Fighterz score: 8/10
2XKO score: 6/10

With Riot Games’ backing, 2XKO will no doubt have a great esports scene, with it already partnering with Frosty Faustings for 2026. The League of Legends IP is already dominating the MOBA esports scene, so it stands to reason that 2XKO will at least be a big name in the fighting game community, but it’s only just taking its first steps.

Dragon Ball FighterZ has been around the block, and while both titles made an appearance at EVO France, FighterZ has built up an esports scene over the years. The way things are going, however, 2XKO’s esports scene will surpass FighterZ’s, especially with Arc System Works having many other games to work on and tapering support off. Simply put, 2XKO’s esports scene has more to get excited about.

Dragon Ball Fighterz score: 5/10
2XKO score: 7/10

Arc System Works has a lot of projects to work on, including supporting Guilty Gear: Strive and developing Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls. As a result, it has been tapering off support for Dragon Ball FighterZ, although all the characters and support it has already provided should be praised.

By contrast, Riot Games is giving its fighter everything it can to give it the best start to life. While we don’t know the exact 2XKO release date, Riot is still adding heroes and listening to the community. The developer support hasn’t been tested, since the game is in early access, but it shows immense promise.

Dragon Ball Fighterz score: 6/10
2XKO score: 7/10

While the Dragon Ball FighterZ vs 2XKO debate is close (34 to 32, respectively), FighterZ is ahead in three out of the five categories and illustrates the differences in where these games are in their life cycle. FigherZ is more complete, but given that it’s past its peak, its better days are more than likely behind it.

2XKO has all the potential in the world. It has the League of Legends champions to add to its roster, is backed by Riot Games, has a strong built-in fan base, and the feedback for the early access has been largely positive thus far. 

If you’re looking for a game to play right now and are familiar with tag fighters, Dragon Ball FighterZ is probably the better choice, especially if you’re a DBZ fan. If you’re newer to fighting games or don’t mind waiting for a more refined experience, and are a LoL fan, 2XKO is the one for you.