Riot Games' entry into the FPS genre,Valorant, had anextremely popular closed betaphase. In addition to an average of three million players logging on each day during the beta, the game also saw a tremendous number of people tuning in to Twitch to watch the game. However, the game’s popularity on the streaming service seems to have undergone a major shift.
DuringValorant’s closed beta, the game saw nearly 150 million hours watched on Twitch just in the game’s first seven days on the streaming platform. The game has since undergone a full launch, though at least one pro gamer thinksValorantlaunched too soon.
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Over the last seven days,Valoranthas only scored 18.2 million hours watched on Twitch, which is clearly a huge drop. In addition, it’s no longer in the top 5 most viewed categories for the last week. Some believed thatValoranthad cemented itself as a top streaming game during its beta phase, but it now appears that number may have been temporarily inflated.
DuringValorant’s beta, only select players and streamers were initially given access to the game. In a clever marketing plan, Riot Games partnered with Twitch to drop beta codes to viewers who spent at least two hours watchingValorantstreams. This undoubtedly gaveValoranta boost on the streaming platform, as players were enticed by the chance to access the new game.
While the diminished viewer hours and fewer streamers playing the game is likely concerning to Riot Games, it’s not necessarily all bad news. Surely some players who were tuned in to the streams have instead busied themselves with actually playing the game, now that it’s open to everyone. Considering the game is free to play, there are no barriers to accessing it anymore, and some players are likely having significantly more fun learninghow to masterValorantthemselves rather than watching someone else play it.
Of course, not everyone is happy aboutValorant. Users took to Metacritic in droves to review bomb the game, claiming it’s merely a rip-off ofCS: GO. However, this is a very common occurrence these days when new games launch, so it doesn’t necessarily speak to the game’s overall popularity. At this point, only time will tell ifValorant’s new agentsand maps will be enough to keep players engaged and perhaps boost its views on Twitch, too.
