Riot Is Cutting The Bloody Imagery In Valorant From Esports To Keep The Sponsors Happy

While Valorant is still in the beta phase, Riot is already thinking about how the esports scene is going to play out. According to Bloomberg, the company plans to remove all bloody imagery from tournaments featuring Valorant in a bid to keep sponsors and broadcasters on board.

Before Valorant’s beta launched, Riot discussed adapting the game for competitions with over 100 organizations. The topic of virtual blood was often brought up, with games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive missing out on commercial deals due to the violent nature of the game.

In response to this, Riot has decided that going ahead Valorant will have a “show blood” option that can be toggled on and off. In the Valorant community competition guidelines published last Wednesday, Riot outlined that organizers of any competitive Valorant tournaments had to turn off the blood setting during the games.

“Ultimately, we want our esport to be as accessible as possible, and that includes ensuring it is also as wide-reaching as possible,” Whalen Rozelle, Riot’s senior director of esports told Bloomberg. “By turning off blood, we allow more sponsors and distributors to join the ecosystem, ultimately creating more accessibility and stability for everyone.”

With professional gaming continuing to bring in ludicrous amounts of money, it makes sense that Riot would be tailoring their next big game for the industry in a way that will make them the most money. According to Bloomberg, “sponsorships remain the biggest source of revenue for esports leagues and teams.”

If you're planning on competing in Valorant once the game releases, understanding these kinds of requirements as a player will be a major issue to consider, especially if you are seeking sponsorship.

Valorant is set to release in summer 2020 on PC, but Riot has yet to announce a more specific release date.