Valorant has already caught on in popularity to a much greater degree than some would have expected- and given its very nature as a competitive first person shooter with shades of both Overwatch and Counter-Strike, it’s clear that this is going to be big in the esports space. Certainly, that’s something Riot Games are emphasizing already.
In fact, to ensure complete accessibility to the game for larger audiences during esports events, the game’s community competition guidelines dictate that all blood in the game must be toggled off – for which there is an in-game option – during events. That’s significant, because Valorant can be a pretty bloody game at times.
“Ultimately, we want our esport to be as accessible as possible, and that includes ensuring it is also as wide-reaching as possible,” said Whalen Rozelle, Riot’s senior director of esports (via IGN). “By turning off blood, we allow more sponsors and distributors to join the ecosystem, ultimately creating more accessibility and stability for everyone.”
“There are major brands that simply won’t sponsor games that have blood or real-world violence,” added esports analyst Manny Anekal. “Limiting blood for Valorant esports events is a smart business move.”
Valorant is currently in closed beta for PC, and will launch in full for the platform later this year. The developers are also open to bringing the game to other platforms, but remain focused on PC for now. Recent evidence has suggested that a mobile version might be in the pipeline as well- read more on that through here.
