Asia crucial to esports ecosystem, India poised to become global event hub: Valorant Esports APAC Chief

“India is actually one of the top countries within APAC in terms of the number of players for Valorant and we’re starting to see that also translate to esports viewership as well as fandom,” Sin told indianexpress.com in an interview on the sidelines of ongoing Valorant Champions 2023 which concludes August 26 with a finale in Los Angeles, California.“The local league there is going really strong, getting high viewership and there has been a lot of commercial interest.”

While esports viewership in India may not be at the same level as the rest of Asia with top-performing teams and players hailing from other Asian countries, Sin believes India will produce the top talent in competitive gaming in the coming years. “I think we’re definitely on the path to getting more Indian players joining the tier-one scene. “We’re bringing in coaches from other countries to elevate the competitive strength of the teams and train talented players. It’s just a matter of time before we see more Indian players competing at the top level,” he said.

Fans outside the Valorant Champions 2023 venue in Los Angeles, California. (Anuj Bhatia / Express photo)

For Sin, Asia Pacific continues to be an extremely important territory in the Esports ecosystem due to a large player base. “Asia Pacific represents about a third of our player base. So there’s definitely fandom here. If you look at the viewership, there are really strong languages like Japanese, Thai, Indonesian and Korean as well as Hindi. So we have some strong local fandom that is building up in the region,” Sin acknowledges the importance of Asia in the esports market. Asia is expected to hit the billion-gamer mark in 2026, according to a report by Niko Partners. In fact, India, Thailand, and the Philippines have the fastest-growing gaming income and player populations among other Asian countries. This shows why companies like Riot Games have set their eyes on India, the world’s most populous country.

Esports had been one of the hottest sectors in gaming for many years up until the pandemic. But recently there have been concerns over profits and lack of monetisation in the esports market. Despite some concerns, companies like Riot Games, which is owned by Chinese internet giant Tencent, are building fan bases in markets like the US and select parts of Asia, luring a new generation of younger players who seek fame and money as gamers.

Jake Sin, Head of VALORANT Esports APAC. (Image credit: Riot Games)

Esports events are typically hosted by video game companies. But no publisher has been as successful as Riot Games in holding professional video game competitions, whose championship matches for its battle game League of Legends draw more users than the Super Bowl. The Los Angeles-based gaming company is replicating the same formula in the hope of creating the esports ecosystem around its tactical first-person shooter “Valorant” which has pivoted from an open tournament structure to a closed league system.

Esports had been one of the hottest sectors in gaming for many years up until the pandemic. (Anuj Bhatia / Express photo)

Valorant was launched globally in June 2020, becoming a smash hit with over 14 million monthly active PC players as of July. Sin counts India as a big market for Valorant, though he refrained from sharing the actual numbers. “If you look at the entire Indian population and think about a portion of that population that plays PC games, and the portion of that population that plays Valorant is going to be a very small percentage. But if you just look at the number of Valorant players in the country, it’s actually a very significant number of players,” says Sin.

The importance of India can be gauged from the fact that the developer in recent months introduced Valorant’s first Indian agent ‘Harbor’, followed by a new map called Lotus, which is set in India and features three spike sites as well as some other brand-new mechanics.

Esports may be a global phenomenon, but the audience in India is yet to discover the world of professional video game competition. It could be due to how gaming is perceived in Indian culture. Gaming, in general, has been looked down upon as a career option, and the way gamers are being stereotyped further distances esports from mainstream appeal. But as broadband Internet access and smartphones become accessible in India, there have been some brands that now host their own mobile esports tournaments, sometimes challenging desktop esports tournaments and rivalling traditional sports events when it comes to prize pools and viewership.

Valorant was launched globally in June 2020, becoming a smash hit with over 14 million monthly active PC players as of July. (Anuj Bhatia / Express photo)

“We are trying to get esports to be accepted more by the mainstream and by our partners, sponsors and media companies,” said Sin, adding that Riot Games is open to partnering with other esports publishers which might help increase the appeal of professional video game competitions in the country.

The role of government also comes into play. In South Korea and China, respective governments have played an important role in building esports ecosystems and critical infrastructure. India has largely the esports industry but that changed last year when the Government of India had officially recognised ‘E-Sports’ as a part of Multi-sports events. “The role of the government is very important for the development of the esports industry because gaming itself is heavily regulated. We have to work around those regulations, which may be a challenge for esports,” said Sin.

The economics of establishing a successful property in the esports market also depends on who controls game licensing and broadcast rights. To fill frenzied fans to cheer on their favourite players, you need giant stadiums and arenas. Riot, for example, not only makes the most popular esports games but also holds high-profile tournaments. As Sin pointed out, infrastructure is critical for hosting Esports events as it requires venues, great connectivity, logistics, good transportation, security, safety, and health needs to be taken care of.

“There are certain cities in India that definitely are pretty close to being considered for international events, and we are exploring opportunities to host global events in India,” reveals Sin. For now, though, Riot is thinking of holding APAC-level events before hosting matches at masters or champion level in the country.