Opinion: It’s too early to jump on the VALORANT esports bandwagon

Riot Games‘ launch of VALORANT, its free-to-play first-person shooter, went extremely well in terms of viewership and reception. Built with competition at the forefront of the mind, it’s of little surprise that it took players just a matter of days to market themselves as professional VALORANT players. In some cases, it even happened before the game launched.

The title is in its closed beta, having launched on April 7th with a drop-based viewing strategy propelling it into unparalleled territories, but the developer didn’t waste any time in releasing its plans for the title when it comes to competition.

Instead of instantly taking control of the competitive ecosystem, which would undoubtedly have been a premature and stifling move, Riot Games announced on April 15th that it would allow third-party tournament organisers to step up and produce the first competitions. We’ve seen events from the likes of G2 Esports, Andbox, and ESPN, all filled to the brim with streamers.

This is the stage VALORANT is at, naturally. There hasn’t been enough time for players to truly understand the game and its ability-infused characters. To this day, some casual players are still looking to receive access to the title through Twitch.

With this in mind, it’ too early for organisations to be signing players to long-term contracts with eye-watering salaries. While Esports Insider can’t speak to the length of contracts, we have already seen the likes of Sentinels sign a high-profile roster for VALORANT despite no competitive scene existing just yet. These players don’t come cheap, having recruited an Overwatch League MVP and two Counter-Strike: Global Offensive professionals.

Source: esportsinsider.com , Image credit: Riot Games