Tencent’s Valorant Mobile has had a very strong launch in China with around 170k downloads on its first day.
In addition to that, the free-to-play game is reported to have already generated $1 million (£745k) in player revenue.
The mobile version of the popular PC shooter was released on August 19th in China exclusively.
A global release for the app is expected in the future, but Tencent and Riot Games haven’t confirmed any details yet.
Valorant Mobile has already climbed to the top of iOS’ most-downloaded charts and is the seventh biggest earner in the store.
Zeng Xiaofeng, vice president at market researcher Niko Partners, told Bloomberg this is “within expectations.”
“Tencent is probably playing the long game and not rushing to monetise up front,” he added.
Riot celebrated the game’s launch by releasing a Valorant Mobile music video with Canadian musician bbno$.
The publishers had help from Lightspeed Studios, the creators of PUBG Mobile, to develop the game.
Valorant Mobile currently features 18 playable agents and nine maps.
Two of those maps are exclusive to the mobile version: Shipyard and Ancient Village.
Valorant Mobile is also getting exclusive skins, including a recently revealed dragon-themed bundle.
Valorant Mobile esports are coming sooner than expected
There’s no denying that Valorant is already one of the biggest and most popular esports in the world.
So it’s no surpirse to see that Riot Games is looking to create an esports ecosystem for Valorant Mobile too.
Especially given the rise of mobile game esports.
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang was the most viewed event of the Esports World Cup so far, with a peak of over 3m viewers.
The PUBG Mobile event was close behind with a peak audience of just under 1.4m.
Given China’s head start, their teams will undoubtedly be favourites on Valorant betting sites when the first international tournament starts.
Riot Games and Tencent have committed to investing 1.5bn RMB (£1.5m) in Valorant Mobile esports for the next three years.
Through their joint venture, TJ Sports, a national Chinese circuit is set to launch for Valorant Mobile later this year.
Riot has also said it will host its ‘first mass event’ for Valorant Mobile later this year in partnership with OnePlus.
There will also be a dedicated in-game tournament centre, where teams and players can register to participate in events.
However, like the release of the game, no global plans for esports tournaments have yet been announced.
In my seven years of esports writing, I’ve introuduced esports coverage to newspapers, interviewed some of the biggest names in the industry, and driven viewers mad with the puns in my YouTube scripts. I’m most proud of the latter.