EXO finally came back.
A new full-length album.
A new world tour.
Concerts across Asia.
For fans who had waited years for major group activities, this should have been a simple celebration.
But for some EXO-Ls, it wasn’t.
Because when EXO returned with “Reverxe” in January 2026, three familiar members weren’t there:
Baekhyun. Chen. Xiumin.
The three members of EXO-CBX have remained absent from recent EXO group activities amid their unresolved dispute with SM Entertainment.
And the situation became so emotionally divisive that EXO’s Reddit community created dedicated spaces specifically for fans who felt unable to celebrate the comeback.
So how did one of K-pop’s most anticipated reunions become so complicated?
EXO Returned After Two and a Half Years
On January 19, EXO released its eighth full-length album, “Reverxe.”
It was the group’s first full-length album since Exist in 2023.
Then came something fans had waited even longer for.
A major EXO concert tour.
“EXO Planet #6 – EXhOrizon” began with three concerts at Seoul’s KSPO Dome in April.
Those Seoul concerts were EXO’s first major concert run in the city in more than six years.
The tour then expanded through Asia.
By August, EXO had performed 27 shows in 14 cities, with three encore concerts scheduled at Seoul’s KSPO Dome for November 6–8.
On paper, it looks like the EXO comeback fans had been waiting for.
Except it wasn’t the EXO lineup everyone wanted to see.
Three Members Were Missing
Baekhyun, Chen and Xiumin—collectively known as EXO-CBX—didn’t participate.
The trio had left SM Entertainment for their individual activities following their earlier contract dispute, while remaining officially part of EXO.
But their relationship with SM deteriorated further.
In October 2025, SM announced EXO activities involving six members: Suho, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai, Sehun and Lay.
CBX’s side subsequently said the trio wanted to reach an agreement that would allow them to participate in EXO activities.
SM responded that resolving the legal dispute and participating in EXO group activities were separate issues, arguing that trust needed to be restored first.
Suddenly, EXO had returned.
But three EXO members weren’t participating.
Reddit Needed a Separate Space Just for Fans Who Couldn’t Celebrate
This is where the fan reaction becomes especially interesting.
The EXO subreddit didn’t simply have a few disappointed comments.
Moderators created a dedicated megathread for discussion of EXO, CBX and the upcoming comeback after it became clear that CBX would not participate.
Eventually, another dedicated thread was created specifically for people who were boycotting, feeling bittersweet about, or simply unable to get excited about the comeback because CBX was missing.
The moderators explicitly asked fans who were enjoying the comeback not to use that particular space to promote it.
Think about how unusual that is.
A fandom had waited years for EXO to return.
Then part of that fandom needed its own space to explain why the comeback itself made them sad.
But That Doesn’t Mean EXO-Ls All Felt the Same Way
This distinction matters.
Reddit doesn’t represent the entire EXO fandom, and even within Reddit there was no single consensus.
Some fans supported the members who were actively promoting and wanted to enjoy the new album and concerts.
Others felt that celebrating without Baekhyun, Chen and Xiumin was emotionally difficult.
And some were caught somewhere between those positions.
Recent discussions still show fans hoping that the disputes can eventually be settled and that all nine current EXO members might share a stage again.
That’s why describing this simply as “fans versus EXO” misses the point.
Many of the disappointed fans were upset precisely because they wanted more EXO, not less.
Then the CBX Story Changed Again
And now there’s another twist.
CBX’s dispute isn’t limited to SM.
The trio also became embroiled in a separate conflict with INB100, the agency handling their individual activities.
Baekhyun originally established INB100 in 2023, before it was absorbed into One Hundred Label the following year.
CBX later alleged that they weren’t receiving required signing fees and revenue settlements and sought to terminate their contracts.
Then, on September 15, 2026, the Seoul Central District Court granted CBX’s request to suspend their exclusive contracts with INB100 while the main lawsuit proceeds.
The court cited unpaid settlements and concluded that the basic relationship of trust underlying the contracts had broken down.
So now the situation is even stranger.
CBX has had disputes involving both SM and the company that later managed their individual careers.
Meanwhile, EXO continues touring without them.
EXO Is Still Moving Forward
Despite all of this, EXO hasn’t stopped.
The EXhOrizon tour continued through cities including Nagoya, Osaka, Macau, Hong Kong and Jakarta.
And after completing the tour schedule, EXO is set to return to Seoul for three encore concerts in November.
That’s important because this isn’t a story where the group simply disappeared while the lawyers fought.
EXO is active.
CBX is active.
But right now, they aren’t active together.
And that’s exactly what makes the situation so difficult for longtime fans.
EXO Came Back. But What Does “EXO Comeback” Mean Now?
EXO officially consists of nine members:
Suho, Chanyeol, Kai, D.O., Baekhyun, Sehun, Xiumin, Chen and Lay.
Yet Baekhyun, Chen and Xiumin remain on hold from current EXO activities.
That’s why the 2026 comeback created such conflicting emotions.
For some fans:
EXO finally returned.
For others:
EXO returned—but not the EXO reunion they had been waiting for.
And now that CBX has won an injunction in its separate dispute with INB100, another question is likely to grow louder:
Will Baekhyun, Chen and Xiumin ever stand on an EXO stage again?
Nobody outside the parties involved can answer that yet.
But judging by how long fans have continued discussing it, plenty of EXO-Ls still want to know.