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Lewis used to be the chief marketing officer for League of Legends, and helped enact that game’s Partner Program, which rewards video-focused influencers with in-game perks, developer access, promotional support, and the opportunity to participate in disclosures. Other AAA studies have similar associations with streamers in place, in particular Supervision Blizzard study.
With ValorantLewis’s marketing strategy has been to leverage Riot’s relationships with streamers and infuse the development process with his feedback from day one. Or, negative day-one.
“Our approach has been even more intimate with influencers,” said Lewis. “Need We need advice on our game, help us make this game good, help us meet your standards as an FPS player.” It was really crucial to involve those influencers at an early stage. “
In addition to offering early access, free games, networking opportunities and other benefits for Valorant streamers, Riot has the money to make deals with high-profile personalities if he so desires. League of Legends It generated $ 1.5 billion in revenue in 2019, and tends to generate between $ 1 and $ 2 billion a year. Not to mention, Riot is 100 percent owned by China’s largest internet company, Tencent Holdings.
Money aside, Riot is rich in relationships. The studio has been running League of Legends Since 2009, it started the e-sports gaming circuit in 2011, and started the Partner Program in late 2018. The studio has been building connections with streamers, sports players, and influencers for years, and these relationships are paying off. with Valorant, the first new IP of the study in more than a decade.
“The reason we have been popular with streamers is because we are geared to meet them, have deeper relationships with them, understand their feedback on the game, play with them,” said Lewis. “We have many of our developers playing with influencers and just hugging and welcoming them. That was an explicit marketing strategy of ours.”
ValorantTwitch’s record-breaking debut coincides with an overall increase in streaming audience linked to the global coronavirus pandemic. With quarantine orders across the country and state across the globe, more people than ever are watching Twitch and YouTube videos, and with traditional sports on hold, eSports are finding a hungry audience.
Riot games
Valorant It was built to be an esports powerhouse, and Riot has already established rudimentary rules for official tournaments. The studio’s esports plans include adding a mode that replaces blood in the game with sparks in an attempt to secure apprehensive sponsors (and likely to appease strict Chinese censorship laws).
A handful of professional players and streamers have also announced their intention to play. Valorant full-time, abandoning other popular titles in the process. Fortnite World Cup runner-up Harrison “psalm” Chang is switching to Valorant, How is it Supervision pro John “Wanted” Lin. Jake “Poach” Brumleve announced in March that he would be leaving Fortnite for Valorant, and in a Twitlonger statement criticized Fortnite Publisher Epic Games for mismanagement of the gaming esports league, writing,
“I hope to find what I’m looking for in Valorant. I have high hopes for the game and I am highly motivated to broadcast and try to compete. If it doesn’t work, I’ll advance as a serpentine. I’m excited to be transmitting again, I don’t feel boxed in feeling compelled to transmit Fortnite never more.”
This faith in Valorant It speaks to the success, so far, of Riot’s marketing approach as the first broadcaster. Lewis actually calls him “player first”. She says Riot is interested in working with streamers and fans at any level of popularity, not just top-tier Twitch personalities.
“Competition is the main point of ValorantAnd that’s why we hope that plays out really well on the esports scene, “Lewis said.” So far it’s been really exciting talking to team owners, talking to players of other types of games on the competitive scene. and just measure their interest. “
At the beginning of the year, Ludwig “Anomaly” Lagerstedt had a significant following on YouTube as Counter Strike global offensive player, with a small presence on Twitch. Today, he is regularly the main name on Twitch, broadcasting Valorant. From April 13 to 19, the Anomaly Channel logged 13.85 million hours of eyeballs, and they were all on Riot’s new shooter, according to The esports watcher.
On April 15, Riot opened the Valorant beta program and key drops enabled for anyone streaming the game on Twitch, not just certified partners. Drops are still running 24/7, and today, just over two weeks after the launch of the game in closed beta, Valorant it’s still at the top of the Twitch charts.
