VALORANT
Documents about VALORANT
Riot Games Launches League of Legends Game Changers for Women in EMEA
Riot Games has introduced League of Legends Game Changers (LGC), a new competitive initiative dedicated to supporting and highlighting women in the esports industry across the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region.
- Riot Games has launched League of Legends Game Changers (LGC), a new competitive initiative in the EMEA region designed to support and increase visibility for women in esports.
- The inaugural tournament, LGC Rising, is scheduled to begin in August 2025.
- The LGC Rising tournament will conclude with a live Grand Final held at Paris Games Week in October 2025.
Riot Games Taps T/SQUARED for Strategic EMEA Commercial Partnership
Riot Games has entered into a strategic commercial partnership with T/SQUARED, a marketing agency established by TEAM Group in 2023.
- Riot Games has appointed T/SQUARED, a marketing agency under TEAM Group, as its primary commercial partner for the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) and the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) EMEA.
- T/SQUARED will lead sponsorship sales and business development efforts for both leagues, including all related esports events and official broadcast feeds.
- The partnership aims to drive commercial growth across the EMEA region by leveraging T/SQUARED's expertise to secure new brand agreements.
Tencent 2023 Third Quarter Results Presentation
Tencent’s third-quarter 2023 financial results demonstrate a strategic shift toward high-quality, high-margin revenue streams and disciplined cost management.
- Tencent reported Q3 2023 total revenue of RMB 154.6 billion, a 10% year-over-year increase, with non-IFRS operating profit rising 36% to RMB 55.5 billion due to improved operational efficiency.
- Free cash flow surged 85% year-over-year to RMB 51.1 billion, enabling the company to repurchase approximately 48 million shares during the quarter.
- Gaming revenue showed resilience with domestic growth of 5% to RMB 32.7 billion and international growth of 14% to RMB 13.3 billion, supported by titles like VALORANT, Lost Ark, and PUBG MOBILE.
Tencent 2023 Second Quarter Results Presentation
Tencent’s second-quarter 2023 financial results demonstrate a period of steady growth and operational efficiency, characterized by an 11% year-over-year revenue increase to RMB 149.2 billion.
- Tencent reported an 11% year-over-year revenue increase to RMB 149.2 billion for Q2 2023, with non-IFRS operating profit rising 37% to RMB 50.1 billion.
- Online advertising revenue surged 34% due to strong demand for Video Accounts and improved machine learning capabilities.
- International gaming revenue grew 19% to RMB 12.7 billion, driven by the performance of titles such as VALORANT and NIKKE, while domestic gaming revenue remained flat at RMB 31.8 billion.
GRID Expands BLAST Partnership to Include Counter-Strike 2 Data
GRID Esports and tournament organizer BLAST have entered into an expanded, multi-year partnership to integrate Counter-Strike 2 tournament data into the GRID Data Platform.
- GRID Esports and tournament organizer BLAST have signed a multi-year, exclusive data partnership to integrate Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2 tournament data into the GRID Data Platform.
- The expanded agreement, which officially commences in November 2024, grants GRID exclusive rights to distribute BLAST’s tournament data to its partners and provide data monetization services.
- Beyond data distribution, the partnership involves the joint development of data-driven products and the implementation of integrity solutions using advanced data technologies.
Japanese Esports Trends on Live Streaming
The Japanese esports landscape is experiencing significant growth in live streaming viewership, signaling a robust expansion of the competitive gaming market.
- Japanese esports viewership reached 28.1 million hours in Q1 2024, representing a 16% year-over-year growth despite eight fewer events being covered.
- VALORANT is the dominant esports title in Japan, accounting for 19.7 million hours watched in Q1 2024, driven largely by the VCT Pacific Kickoff (8.3M hours) and Challengers Japan Split 1 (7.5M hours).
- League of Legends remains a secondary esports title in Japan with 3 million hours watched in Q1 2024, trailing significantly behind its performance in other Asian markets.
SOOP: AfreecaTV’s New Live-Streaming Platform Fully Explained
AfreecaTV is rebranding as SOOP, a new live-streaming platform launching in June 2024.
- AfreecaTV is rebranding to a new platform called SOOP, which is scheduled to launch on June 5, 2024, and will eventually replace the existing AfreecaTV service.
- The platform pivot is a strategic response to the shutdown of Twitch in Korea and increased competition from the Naver-backed streaming platform Chzzk.
- SOOP aims to expand its international reach by introducing real-time translation services for English, Thai, and Chinese audiences starting in late June 2024.
SOOP Streaming Service Goes Live June 5
The live streaming platform SOOP, a project backed by the South Korean company AfreecaTV, is scheduled to launch its global beta on June 5, 2024.
- The live streaming platform SOOP, backed by South Korea-based AfreecaTV, will launch its global beta on June 5, 2024.
- SOOP has secured exclusive partnerships with high-profile esports figures, including T1's Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok and various DRX team members.
- The platform has entered a strategic partnership with Riot Games to exclusively produce and operate the Valorant Challengers Thailand 2024 and manage broadcasting rights for the Valorant Champions Tour in Thailand.
Top 10 Live Streamers for April
The April streaming landscape was defined by a shift back toward gaming-centric content, despite the presence of major esports events like the VALORANT VCT 2024 and Evo Japan 2024.
- Jynxzi maintained the #1 spot for the second consecutive month with an average minute viewership (AMA) of 79.5K, despite a 15.5K decline from March.
- N3on held the #2 position with 65K AMA, continuing to generate traffic through controversial IRL content that resulted in a temporary ban from the Kick platform.
- Kai Cenat moved to #3 with 60K AMA, successfully pivoting from his standard IRL content to a 24-hour playthrough of Ghost of Tsushima.
GRID Launches Rainbow Six Siege Data Portal
The data platform provider GRID and game publisher Ubisoft have launched the Rainbow Six Siege Data Portal (R6DP), a specialized tool designed to support professional esports teams.
- GRID and Ubisoft have launched the Rainbow Six Siege Data Portal (R6DP), providing professional teams with access to in-game data analytics tools.
- The portal allows teams to search, query, filter, and download match data to support talent evaluation and strategy analysis.
- Access to the R6DP is provided free of charge to professional teams within the BLAST R6 esports ecosystem.
Women’s Esports Breaks Into New Genres
Women’s esports is experiencing a period of significant growth, characterized by an expansion into new gaming genres and a reliance on high-profile personalities to drive engagement.
- Women’s esports generated 20.6 million hours watched over the past year, signaling significant demand despite women's events accounting for only 3.3% of all esports events in 2023.
- Co-streaming is a primary driver of engagement, accounting for 41% of total viewership for women’s esports in 2023, totaling 8.4 million hours watched—a 32% increase from 2022.
- VALORANT is the leading title for women’s esports, generating 13.6 million hours watched across 49 global events, with co-streaming contributing 49% of that total viewership.
Top Games in Live-Streaming: February 2024
The live-streaming industry experienced continued growth in February 2024, with the top 10 games collectively generating an additional 21 million hours watched compared to the previous month.
- VALORANT rose to 3rd place in February with 108.7 million hours watched, a 60.8% increase driven by the start of the VALORANT Champions Tour 2024.
- Palworld dropped out of the top 10 after a 69.7% decline in monthly hours watched, falling from 80 million in January to 24 million in February.
- Rainbow Six Siege experienced an 86.1% surge in viewership to 26.8 million hours, largely attributed to the Six Invitational esports event.