Since the launch of Valorant last year, Riot Games has been hard at work trying to build the Valorant competitive esports scene. While Riot Games is familiar with the esports scene through League of Legends, it hopes to have Valorant join the ranks of other big esports leagues like Counter-Strike, Call of Duty, Overwatch. As part of its plan to expand the competitive player base of the game, Riot Games has launched the VCT Game Changers Program with the aim to support women players.
League of Legends may be Riot’s crown jewel, especially when it comes to esports, but Valorant has shown potential as well. There were some Valorant tournaments through 2020, including the Ignition series in the summer, and the For The Women Summer Showdown, which saw full teams of women compete. Towards the end of the year, the first North American regional tournament, Valorant First Strike, saw 100 Thieves come out on top.
The executive producer for Valorant, Anna Donlon, explained the new Game Changers global initiative. VCT Game Changers is meant to supplement the competitive season, and provide additional opportunities to women and other marginalized genders who play the game. For example, the announcement video highlighted players like Annie Dro, Jennifer "refinnej" Le, ARIANARCHIST, Emmalee “Emuhleet” Garrido, and some members from Cloud9 White, an all-female team.
The program is made up of two related initiatives, the VCT Game Changers Series and the VCT Game Changers Academy. The VCT Game Changers Series will consist of high-level competitions in multiple regions around the world, starting in North America in March 2021. The VCT Game Changers Academy, organized in partnership with GALORANTs, will create semi-pro and grassroots tournaments to provide even more opportunities.
Donlon and the Valorant team are hoping that this new initiative will lead to greater opportunities for people with marginalized genders, and help diversify the overall competitive scene. While VCT Game Changers can help include more women in tournaments and esports, Donlon reassures players that the team is still focused on improving the game experience for regular players as well. Valorant has already begun to fix issues of toxicity through additional penalties for AFK and disruptive players in the game.
Many professionals in the gaming industry support representation efforts and initiatives that help increase diversity. While not every player might support Riot's decision to put out this program, it will be interesting to see how it works out. At the very least, fans should keep an eye on what Valorant does competitively in 2021.
Valorant is available on PC.