The ‘Valorant’ Closed Beta Is Live With 1.2 Million Watching On Twitch Already
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The ‘Valorant’ Closed Beta Is Live With 1.2 Million Watching On Twitch Already
I think we are witnessing something rather unprecedented in the gaming community right now, which is possibly the biggest launch of a brand new IP in history. As I write this, more than 1.2 million players are tuned into Valorant streams on Twitch. Some are watching their favorite streamers (attempt to) login and play, others are sticking around hoping that they’re awarded with “loot,” ie. a code so they themselves can get into the closed beta which has just gone live at 8 AM ET today.
Whatever the motivation for watching, this is a massive launch day event for Riot Games, a company that has ruled the MOBA world with League of Legends for over a decade now, and after battling Valve’s DOTA for years, is now targeting their current most popular game, CS:GO, with Valorant.
Valorant is a hybrid between the FPS fundamentals of CS:GO and the hero shooter class identities of a game like Overwatch, although I suppose you could say these characters are also similar to League champs with their ability line-up and ultimates.
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It’s a big, big deal for Riot, who has leaned on League and only League for ages, causing everyone to wonder what else they’re possibly working on besides just new champions and tweaks to the core MOBA. Well, there are a few answers with other games in the works, but Valorant is the highest profile offering of the bunch and the first one to actually arrive.
It is immediately gunning to become a top-tier esport with its hyperfocus on competitive play. I have already started to see some level of a split between esports pros and streamers who love it and “normal” players who question that it might be too niche and it looks too dated to interest them. But it’s easy to see that with all this development time at Riot, and how popular CS:GO has been and continues to be, that Valorant has the potential to make a big impact in the market.
