Valorant is almost out of closed beta and about to officially launch on June 2. Viewership on Twitch though has definitely seen some better days.
Riot’s new shooter has been one of the most popular games in closed beta and has remained a hot topic for a few months. Valorant managed to set up some new viewership records on Twitch in the millions.
- READ MORE: Valorant Map Guide: Bind
The game kept player interest high on the platform but also received a lot of criticism. Many claimed that viewership numbers weren’t real and the only reason for the record was that keys for the beta dropped from Valorant streams. That was indeed true as the majority of the viewers were there in the hopes of getting access to the game’s closed beta.
So how’s the viewership now?
To put it mildly, it’s a shadow of its former self. Nobody expects from Valorant to ever come close to the 1.7 million viewers mark again except maybe in some big future esports event.
Currently, the average viewership has dropped out of the top 5 and is even sitting below CS:GO which isn’t the most viewed game in general. So what happened to the viewers?
- READ MORE: Valorant vs. CS:GO
Initially, when the closed beta started there wasn’t almost any other footage from the game so the only way to see gameplay was on Twitch. Valorant has been out for almost two months and content for the title is now widely available on various platforms. There was also a certain degree of mystery surrounding Valorant as many of the promised features were yet to be revealed. Then there’s also the key drops which further increased the numbers. As time went on and almost every aspect of the game became clear, more and more people also got keys.
The hype train has gradually gone down and that’s completely normal, but the big question is – will interest in Valorant remain high after launch? The game’s official release on June 2 means that everyone will have access to the game, for free. Chances are this will translate to even fewer viewers on Twitch. Such fluctuations happen in almost every game, where new updates and features will draw in interest then gradually decay over time.
The biggest question surrounding Valorant right now is whether the title will make it big in the competitive scene. Many organizations are ready and waiting with Valorant rosters, but what if the esports scene never kicks off as hard as everyone thought? What if interest in Riot’s shooter dies in the next few months? Some think that Valorant will become THE competitive shooter while others claim it'll follow the fate of Overwatch.
Only time will give us an answer to those, in the meantime stay tuned for more Valorant updates and make sure to check out EarlyGame for even more news and videos.
