Riot Games’ Content Marketing Approach for VALORANT Champions 2022

VALORANT is a competitive first-person shooter (FPS) game developed and released by Riot Games in 2020. The game has celebrated high player involvement in the competitive gaming scene wherein, only two years after the game’s release, the grand finals of the culminating event of 2022, VALORANT Champ...

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Main Author: Edward Strazd
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Glasgow 2025-07-01
Series:Press Start
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Online Access:https://press-start.gla.ac.uk/press-start/article/view/306
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author Edward Strazd
author_facet Edward Strazd
author_sort Edward Strazd
collection DOAJ
description VALORANT is a competitive first-person shooter (FPS) game developed and released by Riot Games in 2020. The game has celebrated high player involvement in the competitive gaming scene wherein, only two years after the game’s release, the grand finals of the culminating event of 2022, VALORANT Champions 2022, peaked at 1.5 million viewers (Esports Charts, 2022a). Building on firsthand observation of following VALORANT Champions 2022 as it took place, this paper explores Riot Games’ content marketing approach for VALORANT Champions 2022, its impact on player engagement, and compares it with other esports marketing strategies. I analyze the main mediums of content distribution for the VALORANT Champions 2022 event (social media, website, and in-game content) and compare them against the content marketing sector using the latest developments in esports, with reference to competing game developers and esports organizations. I argue that Riot Games focuses on inclusivity of the global market, involving diverse types of players and regions, and their design/marketing choices create immersive experiences that incentivize players to be a part of the event in one form or another. The results suggest that other games with an esports scene could implement and expand content marketing, creating more themed experiences, similar to how Riot Games does with anthems, in-game content, and more, to grow and maintain interest in their competitive events.
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spelling doaj-art-9f8127d23eac4f0c9dd219e05f44ba882025-08-20T02:39:19ZengUniversity of GlasgowPress Start2055-81982025-07-01111Riot Games’ Content Marketing Approach for VALORANT Champions 2022Edward Strazd0Staffordshire University VALORANT is a competitive first-person shooter (FPS) game developed and released by Riot Games in 2020. The game has celebrated high player involvement in the competitive gaming scene wherein, only two years after the game’s release, the grand finals of the culminating event of 2022, VALORANT Champions 2022, peaked at 1.5 million viewers (Esports Charts, 2022a). Building on firsthand observation of following VALORANT Champions 2022 as it took place, this paper explores Riot Games’ content marketing approach for VALORANT Champions 2022, its impact on player engagement, and compares it with other esports marketing strategies. I analyze the main mediums of content distribution for the VALORANT Champions 2022 event (social media, website, and in-game content) and compare them against the content marketing sector using the latest developments in esports, with reference to competing game developers and esports organizations. I argue that Riot Games focuses on inclusivity of the global market, involving diverse types of players and regions, and their design/marketing choices create immersive experiences that incentivize players to be a part of the event in one form or another. The results suggest that other games with an esports scene could implement and expand content marketing, creating more themed experiences, similar to how Riot Games does with anthems, in-game content, and more, to grow and maintain interest in their competitive events. https://press-start.gla.ac.uk/press-start/article/view/306ValorantValorant Champions 2022content marketingmarketingesports
spellingShingle Edward Strazd
Riot Games’ Content Marketing Approach for VALORANT Champions 2022
Press Start
Valorant
Valorant Champions 2022
content marketing
marketing
esports
title Riot Games’ Content Marketing Approach for VALORANT Champions 2022
title_full Riot Games’ Content Marketing Approach for VALORANT Champions 2022
title_fullStr Riot Games’ Content Marketing Approach for VALORANT Champions 2022
title_full_unstemmed Riot Games’ Content Marketing Approach for VALORANT Champions 2022
title_short Riot Games’ Content Marketing Approach for VALORANT Champions 2022
title_sort riot games content marketing approach for valorant champions 2022
topic Valorant
Valorant Champions 2022
content marketing
marketing
esports
url https://press-start.gla.ac.uk/press-start/article/view/306
work_keys_str_mv AT edwardstrazd riotgamescontentmarketingapproachforvalorantchampions2022