The new title will take a different approach to that typically found in eSports circles
After the incredible success that the beta version of the newest video game presented by Riot Games has had, it makes sense that eSports plans are being already in discussion. Yesterday, Riot spoke about its future vision regarding VALORANT eSports, which will have a more community-driven approach. Apparently, the company intends on delegating the league organization to third parties for the initial levels of the competitive scene of its tactical 5-v-5 shooter video game that is taking the gaming world by a storm.
Riot has been one of the industry’s leaders in the eSports scene organizing the best pro leagues, with League of Legends being the most successful one. The video game publisher has chosen to operate its own regional leagues rather than using third party organizers, which has been proven to be a successful strategy. For VALORANT, however, Riot wants to test the grounds of using a third-party community approach for its newest competitive scene.
Whalen “Magus” Rozelle, Riot’s senior director of global esports said that VALORANT is an “eSport worthy of your lifelong attention and interest.” A plan was outlined by Rozelle regarding the three founding principles of the league: competitive integrity, authenticity and accessibility. This means that Riot expects this league to have a future in which any player with enough talent can join the top-level competition through fair play and “merit-based competition.”
Rozelle added that the company’s intention if for its new video game to experience organic growth, they are “not looking to force anything too quickly without knowing what’s best for esports fans.” To achieve this, the “primary focus early on will be forming partnerships with players, content creators, tournament organizers, and developers—unlocking them to help us to build this ecosystem.”
