It ranked fifth in the "GameSpy's 2003 PlayStation 2 Games of the Year" with the staff saying "Guilty Gear X2 is easily one of the best fighting games to come out in the last couple years". In 2004 IGN's editors selected it as the ninth best "Hidden Gems"—fun video games with poor sales in America.
Guilty Gear X2 was recognized for its excellence in the fighting genre by GameSpy and IGN, despite not achieving widespread popularity.