Male Valorant pros took part in an experiment where they used a voice changer to sound like women, experiencing firsthand how bad the misogyny can be in the game. The majority of competitive FPS games like Valorant are male-dominated, but there are also many women playing in the servers. However, as female players would detail time and again, the blatant sexism they experience often ruin the fun.
As a whole, the team behind Valorant has always promoted inclusivity and diversity. Executive producer Anna Donlon has been vocal in the past about tackling the toxicity that occurs in the game, including abusive language towards specific groups. Likewise, Valorant has a Game Changers program that provides a platform for all-women teams to compete for a world championship title. The reigning Valorant Championship Tournament (VCT) Game Changers champions are G2 Gozen from EMEA.
The recent Valorant Game Changers tournament may have brought women players to the forefront, but there are still male players who hurl hurtful remarks at their teammates. This was what Women in Games Argentina wanted to shed light on in its recent campaign against sexism in the gaming space. Titled "SWITCH VOICES," the YouTube video showed three male Valorant pros playing games with a voice changer that gave them a more feminine voice. Their teammates almost immediately became hostile towards them when they hear a woman's voice, calling them names and telling them to "contribute in the kitchen." The video also showcased how such behavior could take a big hit on players' performance as one participant died 16 times because their male teammates refused to help him out.
Speaking on the experience, player Alfredito said in the video that they couldn't imagine experiencing that type of sexism in Valorant on a daily basis. He admitted that it took away his desire to play. Another player named Lucius said that his games left him feeling frustrated and sad. Meanwhile, many women in the gaming scene shared their experiences in Valorant, as well as other FPS games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Call of Duty: Warzone. Some expressed that they felt sad that men had to experience the misogyny for themselves to know what women go through daily.
As Kristabyte said on her TikTok video, Women in Games' experiment did an effective job of bringing issues of sexism in gaming to light. It's also important to note that this isn't limited to casual gamers as well. Even pro Valorant players competing in Game Changers receive sexist and even transphobic remarks, prompting Riot Games to disable the livestream chat of their matches at times. Hopefully, this experiment would bring positive change to Valorant and other competitive games.
Valorant is available now on PC.