2 June 2021 marks the one-year anniversary of the launch of VALORANT, Riot Games’ highly popular competitive 5v5 character-based tactical shooter.
To celebrate this significant milestone, Riot Games Southeast Asia (SEA) is planning a series of exciting activities and exclusive content over the next few months for VALORANT players and fans in the region to enjoy.
Southeast Asia has played an important role in VALORANT’s success worldwide. With one of the most engaged player communities and numerous esports tournaments, the region has helped to shape the development of the game.
To thank players and fans in the region, Riot Games will host a number of exciting activities and influencer collaborations focused on giving back to the Southeast Asian community.
“When we launched VALORANT last year, our goal was to bring our unique Riot brand to the FPS genre. One year on, we are thrilled to see that the game is so well-received by our players around the world. In particular, we want to thank our amazing Southeast Asia player community for their amazing support and engagement over the past year,” said Justin Hulog, General Manager for Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong, Riot Games.
“We hope they will join us in our collection of online activities as we celebrate this milestone. We’re incredibly excited about the future of VALORANT and look forward to bringing more innovative in-game and brand experiences to our Southeast Asian community.”
Riot Games SEA will be rolling out a number of online activities throughout June and over the next few months to celebrate VALORANT’s first birthday.
SEA Birthday Rush Livestream
To celebrate VALORANT’s one-year birthday in the region, Riot Games SEA has created an artisanal pandan-flavoured Spike cake, which will be featured in the VALORANT’s Birthday Rush Livestream on Wednesday, June 2nd at 8 pm GMT+8.
https://www.facebook.com/PlayVALORANT/videos/1403612940020632/
Players are invited to tune into the Livestream and scan-to-win in an unforgettable and rewarding event. VALORANT merch, exclusive swag and in-game rewards will be made available to participants throughout the live stream which will be available in English, Thai and Bahasa Indonesia.
Community Showcase
Bricx Martillo Dumas: Riot Games SEA has worked with Bricx, a visual artist based in Quezon City, Philippines to celebrate the Filipino VALORANT community.
https://www.facebook.com/PlayVALORANT/videos/531275107902761/
Bricx, an avid VALORANT player, has created a one-year anniversary illustration that can be viewed on the VALORANT Facebook page. This illustration has been used to create an event exclusive mouse pad that players can stand a chance to win during the SEA Birthday Rush event.
Bricx also sat down with Riot to share his thoughts on the importance of family and community, as well as the role that VALORANT has played in bringing people together.
Featuring Local Creators’ Favorite Agents
Riot Games SEA is working on a series of videos with popular local creators around the region to showcase their favourite agents.
Creators from the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand will be posting videos about their favourite agents over the next few months. Keep an eye on the VALORANT Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand Facebook pages to catch the latest videos.
Twitch Rivals Community Tournament:
Riot Games SEA will be partnering with Twitch and Taiwan Mobile to run a community tournament on June 11th with participation from Taiwanese partners and creators. Participants will be battling for a prize pool of USD 15,000.
Special prizes and in-game items will also be made available to players and fans through the event. Stay tuned on the VALORANT Taiwan Facebook page and Twitch Rivals page for more information about this tournament.
Looking Ahead: Player Engagement and Esports Events
There will also be new VALORANT content and activities to look forward to in the years to come, both globally and closer to home. Players can expect continued engagement as Riot continues to gather their feedback to improve the overall VALORANT experience.
Southeast Asian players can also expect more unique, regional events and innovative brand experiences.
The region can also expect more esports-driven initiatives, moving forward. The inaugural VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT), a season-long tournament that runs competitions in various regions across the world, including Southeast Asia, is now well underway and will lead to the finals Champions event at the end of the year. This year, the region has its very own representative, Thai team X10, who has been competing at the VCT Masters 2 event in Iceland which will wrap up this week.
Riot Games SEA will also continue partnering with various tournament organisers across the region to rollout esports and collegiate tournaments where avid players and professional athletes can showcase their skills and strategy on local, regional and global stages, against some of the most prolific esports teams in the world.