The rumors for Valorant Mobile’s release have put the mobile gaming community on edge. Games like PUBG, Apex Legends, and Genshin Impact dominate the mobile gaming space. However, if the marketing for Valorant is right and the gameplay is flawless, then Valorant Mobile has the potential to upset the gaming market and be the best the FPS genre in mobile has seen in a while if Riot plays it right.
Contents
- How Valorant Mobile Can Upset the Mobile Gaming Market
- The Number’s Game
- Valorant’s Appeal and Why it Will Gather Players on Launch
- Other FPS Shooters in the Market
- The Verdict
How Valorant Mobile Can Upset the Mobile Gaming Market
Ever since Valorant Mobile was announced, fans of the FPS have been going wild with assumptions. Those assumptions include the number of Agents and Gamemodes on launch, accessibility features, and if most of the likeness from Windows would carry over to handheld devices. The goal is to have a launch so massive that it would show the other rival games the potential of Valorant on handheld devices.
On top of all of the hype, Tencent Games are the ones developing Valorant alongside Riot Games. Tencent is one of the biggest mobile game developers in the market and with them on their side, Valorant is sure to have a good entrance into the world of mobile. However, Valorant Mobile has some big shoes to fill as there are already big names in the market.
The Number’s Game
As of 2023, PUBG Mobile has 30 million daily active players. In comparison, Valorant’s active player count in the last 30 days was 23 million plus. That is the bar Valorant Mobile has to aim for. However, there is one major factor we are currently not considering when making this comparison; accessibility. A lot of gaming enthusiasts nowadays have easier access to mobile phones rather than PCs.
That is also the reason why PUBG’s daily player count easily triumphed over Valorant’s monthly active player base. Once Valorant Mobile releases and becomes available to most of the handheld market, we might see an equal number being put out by both games. However, that might take a while as we recently saw a closed beta in China for Valorant Mobile. We do not have a concrete release date for the same.
Once the game releases, it will be easier to crunch numbers together and see how the release of Valorant has affected its fellow rival’s player counts as players might transition. Not to mention, the game might also get an Esports scene of its own, since it has lots of potential and the market for that is wider than the PC one.
Valorant’s Appeal and Why it Will Gather Players on Launch
Valorant has gameplay that blends superheroic abilities with the tactical FPS genre. The base objective of the most standard game mode includes planting and defusing a bomb which is in common with CS 2, one of the most popular FPS games out there. However, Valorant takes that FPS quality of aiming down the barrel and enhances it with abilities and Ultimates, similar to Apex Legends.
In essence, Valorant combines Apex and CS in one spectacular blend of chaos. This chaos is perfect for Mobile Players since they are used to high-octane games like PUBG Mobile and COD Mobile. Coincidentally, these games will be the biggest rivals for Valorant Mobile on launch. It will be difficult to make players of either of these games transition over to Riot’s FPS.
However, Valorant has been popular in countries like India and China which have massive player bases even though it hasn’t been released for mobile devices. These are also the biggest markets Riot will be looking to target since PUBG has a separate version for South Asia called Battlegrounds Mobile India. Seeing the potential that India and China have as markets, and the willingness of players to pick up Riot’s shooter for their handheld devices, Valorant Mobile is sure to be a hit.
Other FPS Shooters in the Market
There are fewer titles in the FPS market for mobile. Firstly, we have games like COD Mobile and Modern Combat 5. However, there are unexpected and fun hits like Guns of Boom and Call of Duty Warzone Mobile which have lots of potential. These are major competitors for Valorant Mobile upon release.
Among these, COD Mobile has a stranglehold over the market, commanding the majority of the player base. However, some of the market is populated by Guns of Boom and Modern Combat as well. None of these games are obsolete and the fan bases for these games are loyal. It will require good marketing to capture these player bases and convert them into permanent Valorant Mobile players.
The Verdict
Valorant Mobile will definitely be a success upon release. The game already has tons of mass appeal and enough marketing due to the Esports scene. However, does it have the potential to upset the market and grab the majority of player bases from other giants? Yes, it is quite possible. The reason is that the game has tons of things going for it, including a fresh concept for mobile, unique characters, and lots of game modes.
Battle Royales can get monotonous after a while but the existence of other game modes keeps the player base hooked. There are games like Standoff 2 which have the same premise as Valorant and CS but they are what people might consider a “copy” of the original. Valorant’s concept is unique and there is appeal for its gunplay.
Not only that, the characters are quite popular in mainstream media even if people haven’t experienced it yet. All in all, Valorant Mobile can be a huge hit if Riot and Tencent play their cards right and market the Mobile Version correctly through Esports events throughout the year. That is where the majority of the game lovers show up to cheer for their favorite teams. It can double as a marketing funnel to bring in more players for the Mobile version.
There is no release date for Valorant Mobile just yet but we believe it will hit devices till the end of 2024.
