Riot Games officially reveal the VALORANT esports plans

VALORANT has been on everyone's lips since the very first day of its reveal during the 10th anniversary of Riot Games under a working name “Project A”. The company, known for a huge and successful ecosystem behind its biggest game, League of Legends, has revealed today its plans for the VALORANT esports scene.

Without a doubt, this is something a lot of people were waiting for as more and more organizations are announcing their entrance to the competitive scene of the newest FPS title. Just a few days after the launch of closed beta, the developers were asked about their esports plans for the game and not long after that, the first reports came to light, revealing that Riot Games have met privately with major organizations in the industry to introduce them first to the roadmap they’ve prepared.

One of the main questions everyone was asking themselves, is if Riot will follow the same scheme of esports for VALORANT as they already have in League of Legends. As the game is something new to the market, the developers have decided to choose a different road for their FPS title. As the game is totally different then their previous one, the production of the esports broadcast will be a new challenge for the team.

“Our aspiration is to build an esport worthy of your lifelong attention and interest. We plan to do so guided by three core principles: competitive integrity, accessibility, and authenticity. Competitive integrity means that we want aspiring pros to have a fair shot at reaching the highest levels of play through merit-based competition. We will work tirelessly to ensure matches are won and lost based on a person’s skill and teamwork rather than external factors. Accessibility is our promise that fans and players from all backgrounds will be welcome into the VALORANT community. We aspire to build the highest quality broadcast experience that showcases the creativity, teamwork, and clutch moments we love about this game, while both catering to longtime fans and making it easy for new fans to discover their love of esports. Authenticity means that we know this esport is yours and we hope to build it together with you. We want VALORANT esports to grow with this community as well as discover its own voice, talent, and stars,” we can read from Whalen “Magus” Rozelle, Senior Director of Global Esports, in the official announcement on the VALORANT website.

Riot Games have established clear standards for everyone to follow, as they want to give everyone the chance to host the future VALORANT tournaments - from small internet cafes to the influencers and major esports events organizers. Even though Riot will be mainly focusing on giving the possibility to host the competition, they will still monitor the situation and will come to the action when it’s needed. One of the goals is to create a cohesive experience for competitive players by not allowing certain events to occur at the same time. It’s a very important thing to note as Counter-Strike tournaments have a tendency to happen so often that the players must choose between two or more of these events that are happening at the exact same time.

**The following tiers have been introduced: **

TIER 3 - Small Tournaments

This tier is for participant-driven, non-produced, small local events. It can be organized by players, PC Cafes and community organizers with a goal of providing a social play or fun activity. The prize pool can’t exceed $10,000 (or its regional equivalent) or $12,000 in non-cash prizes.

TIER 2 - Medium Tournaments

As it’s considered as a middle ground for the competitors, these can be organized by middle-tier businesses and brands, esports organizations and influencers that are seeking to monetize and/or grow brand or business. These events are not guaranteeing any implications in the VALORANT Global Esports Ecosystem and the prize pool must be under $50,000 (or its regional equivalent).

TIER 1 - Major Tournaments

As Riot Games says, events of this kind are a prelude to competitive play. These events can be run only by the major organizers in the industry such as ESL or DreamHack. The tournaments are focused on the professional players as these will be a part of the VALORANT Global Esports Ecosystem.

Riot Games has shared VALORANT Community Competition Guidelines to help the future organizers understand the approach of the company. And there is quite a lot to learn as, unlike in CS:GO that is showing the blood, the organizers will need to toggle off “Show Blood” in the settings during the broadcasts.

The developers also included a list of “The Prohibited Sponsor and Advertiser List” during the broadcasts that is containing among others - any other game or tournament, gambling, firearms, drugs, pornography, alcohol, tobacco, cryptocurrencies and much more.

The detailed plans for the major events have not to be settled yet so we can’t be one hundred percent sure that soon or in a few years, VALORANT will or will not follow the steps of its older brother, League of Legends, and enter the franchise system. So far, the developers are overwhelmed with the amount of the positive response to their game and the results they were able to achieve have extended all of their highest internal estimates.

Riot Games clearly wants to provide the best possible conditions for all of the aspiring players who want to shine in VALORANT. The developers want to closely work not only with them but the organizations as well as tournament organizers and other figures from the esports industry. “We want to let VALORANT grow naturally; we’re not looking to force anything too quickly without knowing what’s best for esports fans,” comments Whalen “Magus” Rozelle.

We are excited to see what the future has yet to bring us and can’t wait for more information about the VALORANT esports activities!