VALORANT continues to exceed all reasonable expectations with record-breaking viewership as viewers hope for their chance to play the game.
With any new game, there will be new figures that rise to prominence thanks to the swell of viewership. This week, VALORANT may have found its first new top tier influencer.
Twitch’s Top Content – VALORANT
Not only did VALORANT claim the top spot on Twitch for the second week in a row, but it once again exceeded 100M hours watched. Streamers of VALORANT continue to benefit from the viewer incentive of beta access drops, slowing the decline in viewership that naturally occurs following a new game release. While viewership should continue to decline week-over-week, it will likely remain slower so long as drops are enabled.
The questions now for the game are less about how long during the beta phase it can sustain this historic viewership, but what it means for VALORANT long-term. Riot Games’ own card game Legends of Runeterra showed that the success of a drop-heavy closed beta phase does not always translate to sustained popularity once everyone has access to the game. It is entirely possible that viewers will get their fill of the title during this period, and not return for the next wave of testing or for the actual launch.
One point in VALORANT’s favor, however, is the level of commitment already seen by esports organizations and media. 100 Thieves and ESPN have already hosted invitational tournaments for the title and esports teams have made no secret about their desire to actively recruit players for their own squads. VALORANT has created such fervor for a game that appears to also be well-designed for competition, that it could well be a major esport before it is available to the public.
Twitch’s Top Channel – Anomaly
Three months ago, Ludwig “Anomaly” Lagerstedt was a popular Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) YouTuber with a modest Twitch stream. In the last two weeks, however, Lagerstedt has skyrocketed to the very top of Twitch thanks to the continued popularity of VALORANT.
The streamer leveraged the fervor for beta access drops to full effect in earning a strong 13.85M hours watched, turning his stream into a 24/7 broadcast. This allowed drop hopefuls to simply leave the stream on for extended periods of time to increase the odds of securing their access.
In some ways, Lagerstedt’s sudden explosive growth mirrors that of Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, who had streamed in relative obscurity on games like H1Z1 before Fortnite took off and propelled him to become the most popular gaming influencer of 2018. However, while Blevins certainly got a leg up thanks to the hype surrounding Fortnite, he did so without the added viewer incentive of getting access to an exclusive game that could not be played otherwise.
Lagerstedt has certainly received significant exposure from his rise to the top, but his current figures are in no way sustainable and will decline substantially when drops are no longer a factor. Fortnite brought an entire new crop of streamers to the forefront, where VALORANT streamers are competing in a well-saturated tactical shooter market. It is possible that Lagerstedt could remain on top of that pile, but he will have a much harder time than did Blevins in his pursuit of the throne.
