With Valorant having only just been released in closed beta form and access to the game basically being determined by streamers dishing out keys to their viewers, its already proven to be an immensely popular game. Drawing very clearly from Counter-Strike, Valorant plays in an almost identical fashion albeit with quirky characters and hero powers instead of nameless soldiers duded up with sunglasses and bandannas. It makes sense then that Riot has positioned Valorant to be the next huge esport and while the game is still incredibly young, they’re being very proactive about the whole competitive scene, particularly self-censorship.
Riot has previously discussed how it plans on adapting the game to be competition appropriate for over 100 esports organisations. Games like Counter Strike have missed out on a few big name competitive deals due to it displaying blood upon getting a kill so to prevent missing out on any lucrative partnership, Riot’s gone ahead and added an option to toggle blood on and off to get around the sensors. Speaking to Bloomberg, Riot’s senior director of esports Whalen Rozelle said, “Ultimately, we want our esport to be as accessible as possible, and that includes ensuring it is also as wide-reaching as possible
By turning off blood, we allow more sponsors and distributors to join the ecosystem, ultimately creating more accessibility and stability for everyone.
Which is just corporate speak for, “We wanted all the cash we could find.” Look, at least it’s just a toggle option so most players won’t really be affected by it. Even if Riot did remove all the blood from the game it wouldn’t exactly change the core experience.
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Last Updated: April 17, 2020
