Valorantstarted making waves the moment it was announced. The first-person tactical shooter released for PC on July 05, 2025. ThoughValorantwas likely to see success regardless of its release date, as titles from its developer and publisher, Riot Games, have humongous fan bases,Valorantwas released during the lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic. LikeAnimal Crossing: New Horizons,Valorantwas a source of comfort for many gamers during those uncertain times.
But the largest impactValoranthas made in its five-year history is arguably within the esports community.Riot Games primedValorantfor the esports scene early into the shooter’s history when it launched the First Strike tournament in 2020. This tournament laid the groundwork forValorant’s place in competitive gaming, making it one of the most popular titles in its field.
Valorant Dominates ESports
The First Strike tournament was ground zero forValorant’s esports presence, but theValorantChampions Tour (VCT) is the major event most gamers associate with the shooter. VCT was announced only five monthsafterValorantdebuted. The year-long tournament circuit consists of three levels: Champion, Masters, and Challengers. These levels are divided based on location, with Champions acting as VCT’s world championship, Masters acting as a series of international competitions mid-season, and Challengers establishing who will qualify for Masters through a series of regional competitions. This system of competitions ran from 2021-22 in what is known as the Open-qualifiers era.
Valoranthas since moved to a partnership system, initially with thirty franchised teams collaborating with the game. Champions and Masters remain largely unchanged in the partnership era, but a new set of International Leagues act as qualifiers for both Masters and Champions. These competitions are divided into four regions: the Americas, China, EMEA, and the Pacific. A non-partner systemstill exists forValorant, where the Challengers tier now plays its part. Ascension runs on the same four-competition structure as the International Leagues, acting as their qualifier.
Professional esports aren’t the only arena thatValoranthas taken on. Recreational and college teams exist for the Riot Games shooter.Valorantalso added a Premier gamemode with a worldwide release back in 2024. Premier allows players to form their own teams and practice competitive gameplay, with the explicit goal of training players who hope to become professional competitive players. Though other shooters, likeMarvel Rivals, may be incredibly popular,Valoranthas seen major success when it comes to streaming and video content. Content creationandValorant’s esport successhave seemingly gone hand in hand, with plenty of professionalValorantplayers also making content for TikTok, YouTube, and Twitch alongside professional play.
How Valorant Has Grown and is Celebrating its 5th Anniversary
But, of course,Valorant’s success as a game would not have been sustainable without new content for players to test out.Valorant’s 1.0 rosterincluded eleven agents and four standard play maps. This initial roster has since ballooned into twenty-eight agents and eleven standard play maps. The game’s lore has expanded further, with Easter eggs unraveling the ties betweenValorant’s Alpha and Omega Earths always hidden in the game’s battle passes and maps.
Valorantis celebrating its fifth anniversary at several Riot Play Clubs in the UK, Ireland, Finland, Norway, and Comic Con Stokholm. On top of these in-person celebrations,Valoranthas plenty of fun new treatsfor players in-game. Some of these rewards are free for players in the VAL5 Event Pass and even reference previous cards and sprays. Shop items include the Beta Bundle, which includes weapons that were available inValorant’s beta back in April 2020. But there are also big changes headed into the game, like a new map that will be added toValorant’s competitive rotation at launch. Riot Games has also confirmed that a replay system will officially head to PC in v.11.06 this September and consoles later this year. It’s clear that Riot Games is continuing to pushValorantin the esports scene, but the updates headed to the game in Patch 10.10 show that, if players’ opinions are heard,Valorantcan succeed for another five years.
