- Valorant Mobile may be contained to the Southeast Asia region
- The game will to grow in the more mobile-friendly markets first
- Riot Games is driving forays with several viable games in SEA
Valorant Mobile has no official release date, but Riot Games is already targeting Southeast Asia as its most lucrative market for the game.
Riot Games Puts It Mark on SEA with Valorant
Valorant has had a good run so far, starting as an exclusive game obtainable only by the Twitch fandom. After a while, Riot Games stepped forward and announced plans to develop the game organically.
A volcanic eruption in Iceland could not stop the game from holding one of its first more serious events, and today, Valorant is now planning to make its way to the very top of the mobile market, in Southeast Asia.
In an interview with One Esports, Riot Games general manager Justin Hulolg spoke about the company's plans with Valorant in the region. Approach the subject, highlighted the tremendous fanbase for mobile esports in the region, making it a perfect pitch for the company's new mobile version.
Riot Games are hardly the only ones to see the potential. Blizzard announced that Diablo Immortal will be a mobile-first game sending a wave of dissatisfaction with western crowds but receiving a warm welcome in Southeast Asia.
However, by opting for Southeast Asia, Riot Games may be admitting that the game has not much of a future outside of that vacuum. Vacuum as it may, Asia is the world's most populous state with plenty of young demographic to take up gaming as a hobby.
SEA Has the Infrastructure to Support Mobile Gaming
Valorant will remain focused on the region, Hulolg noted in the interview, arguing that it would not make much sense to look past the region. Riot Games is perhaps a little worried about western audiences' dissatisfaction with the mobile segment, which they find insufficient to meet their expectations for gaming.
Besides, Southeast Asia is generally a lower-income region than say North America, which means that gamers cannot afford all the bells and whistles of gaming, but a good smartphone is never too far.
In the meantime, Riot Games has not provided much clarity as to what Valorant Mobile would be and how it would play out. The company is still keeping matters pretty close to the chest. In the meantime, the company is also pushing with League of Legends: Wild Rift, as an attempt to go head-to-head with other games in the region, including Honor of Kings and Mobile Legends.
