Is Valorant getting closer to becoming the top FPS out there? We definitely felt that the game had developed a lot over the year, but what do the numbers have to say about it? Let's find out!
When Valorant first came out, many people hoped it would be the "prince that was promised" of FPS games and succeed in putting CSGO to death. And well, it's hard to talk about wiping Valve off the board here, but Riot definitely took some player base from other titles and created another product with the potential for a massive eSports scene. However, is Valorant likely to become even more popular? We have some numbers to help you answer that question.
How Many People Play Valorant? (Player Tracker / Stats)
According to data provided by activeplayer.io, the average number of monthly active players in 2021 was 13,863,342, whereas the best month was July (14,901,147 players) and the worst month was February (13,260,396 players). However, the average number of daily logins to the game was 848,955, which is excellent for a one-year-old FPS game. According to Riot, in June 2021, Valorant could already boast a number of 50 million matches played.
So far in 2022, we're averaging 15,252,011 monthly players with around 1,474,361 daily active players. These are really big numbers for players using the best knife skins, so how does Valorant's player count compare to other popular games?
Valorant vs. Other Games (CSGO, Fortnite, Overwatch)
To have a better look at how good Valorant's performance is for 2021, let's compare it to other shooters with a developed eSport system — Counter-Strike, Fortnite, and Overwatch. We'll look at not only the number of active players but also the popularity of these games on Twitch, the biggest streaming platform for gaming out there.
The following data has been sourced from twitchtracker.com, steamcharts.com, and activeplayer.io (July 2021-March 2022):
| Game | Avg. Players Monthly | Average Viewers (Twitch.tv) | Peak Viewers (Twitch.tv) |
| Valorant | 15,252,011 | 142,813 | 1,726,074 |
| CSGO | 32,011,445 | 63,789 | 1,914,861 |
| Fortnite | 364,501,169 | 69,266 | 2,277,171 |
| Overwatch | 7,201,455 | 8,213 | 1,459,208 |
Alright, considering that Fortnite and Overwatch are available for other platforms, and CS:GO is the most popular FPS out there, you have to admit, these numbers look superb for Valorant. But can they get even better?
Will Valorant Stay Popular?
Although the numbers show that the player base number is pretty stable, there are 2 things that could make it go up. The first one would be releasing the game on other platforms. We've already heard that Riot is working on a mobile and console version of Valorant; and this will undoubtedly increase the popularity of the game, especially if it is also free to play.
Another thing that could positively affect the popularity of Valorant is a developed in-game tournament mode, which could allow smaller teams to qualify for events. People love to compete, and the vision of fulfilling the "eSports dream" is something that motivates people to invest their time and money in the game. And again, we already know that Riot is planning to implement a tournament mode:
Tournaments are coming VALORANT! | #VALORANT> Compete in a high stakes tournament mode against other teams to earn super cool prizes. Tournaments are every other weekend with timetables listed below. Get started by verifying your identity and then creating or joining a team!
— Mike - Valorant Leaks & Info (@ValorLeaks) August 10, 2021
It probably won't replace the VCT Circuit, but it'll still be an excellent opportunity for smaller teams to shine and have their eSports adventure. All in all, it looks like Valorant has a promising future ahead of it, and we can't wait to watch it grow.