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    Can Riot Games Make 'Valorant' An Esports Success? Signs Point To Yes

    Riot Games is known as the League of Legends studio — apart from some spinoffs, they've never done anything else. But now they're trying something new, a first-person shooter called Valorant.
    by Kaity Kline May 08, 2020 4 minutes
    <em></em>In <em>Valorant</em>, you mostly won't be jumping into direct confrontations — instead, you'll creep around corners to try landing a sneaky shot.

    As long as Riot Games has been around, they've been the League of Legends studio. They didn't really need to do anything else — League is one of the most popular esports in the world. Tens of millions of people play every month, and millions also watch tournaments on the Twitch streaming service, and in stadiums, to see professional players compete against each other for millions of dollars in prizes.

    Riot has released a few League spin-off games, but now they're venturing into completely new territory. Valorant, officially out this summer, is Riot's first non-League game, and its first first-person shooter.

    It's a Frankenstein-y mashup of other popular games like and, mixing the tactical, strategic naturewith characters and unique special abilities.

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