The year 2020 started at a hike in the scene of the Player Unknown’s Battleground with valorant games. The player base started growing at an electric speed with more and more people finding interest in the games. Nonetheless, this has since been a cold game in India since the ban of the PUBG mobile which was the center of connectivity to the most fan. To make matters worse is that it is not known when negotiations can win and have the ban lifted. India had enjoyed vast benefits while the game was on among them being sponsorship, local and foreign investment, media attention among others. Nonetheless, the ban has been a challenge to organizers and other players engaged in the planning of these PUBG games who are struggling to find an alternate activity to do to earn a living. These partners and organizers have since rallied collaboration with PC makers and advocated for the title and have since but a community of leaders who can take the discussions on lifting the ban higher.
New into the Esports has been the Esports Club which over many of its tournaments its valorant games has topped the list in fame, player base, and viewers since inception. Ishaan Arya the business content head at TEC admits this fact by reckoning the fact that valorant games are the most popular title with a big viewer and player base. TEC organizer has laid long-term plans for IPs which includes valorant as well stating that it is of great importance to the organization. He emphasizes their effort in bringing low teams tier on board and giving the chance to also appear in the limelight while maintaining the quality of the game against what Counter-strike of India does with the same people in every game and season with only a few new faces here and there.
TEC attracted their first sponsor Lenovo India after their success with the valorant challenger series and has since won other sponsors like the AMD Ryzen, Internet service Provider, ACT fibernet among others.
Amit Doshi the India Lenovo chief marketing office goes on to comment on how valorant is the best natural fit for TEC. He retaliates that valorant is among the greatest growing game in space and fans in India and the next big thing to look out for in PC games in India. He oversees that the game will skyrocket after the Covid pandemic lockdowns after the establishment of a server in India.
Velocity gaming is the topmost organization stakeholder in the game industry in India. Its owner Major Sentinel reckons the fact that Riot games has been very interactive and created an easy platform where even new players can join and play without difficulty. He empathizes that it is their time to move on even with the little setbacks they have experienced in the past with the Indian PC Esports scene receiving little support in the past.
Major also adds that with valorant, India can now appear at the international scenes as the game was established and adopted by nearly everyone. He says that Asia and other continents had been long been the only teams appearing but valorant has made this also possible to India. Nonetheless, Major is also concerned by the costs of operating a roster in a PC title. He is worried that the cost of running the tile may be two times higher which can be much demanding. Nonetheless, though there is an avenue of making revenue out of the program, major is much concentrated on building a name for the brand first before using it to make revenue.
The majority of the local Indians have no other title to think and invest in from the high fame and popularity Valorant is having in south Asia and the international competitions that keep on happening in Asia that are inflecting the viewer base and fans of valorant. However, other organizations like Global Esports and Godlike are developing interests in the title. Nonetheless, the challenge for them remains the ability to retain and grow their interests together with building a community and viewers for the program on their platforms. It does not just happen and it takes sincere and honest interest to grow both the viewers and community of the game.