Riot Games and Tencent have announced a massive 1.5bn RMB (~$200m / £150m) investment over the next three years to develop the VALORANT Mobile esports ecosystem in China, ahead of the game’s official launch.
The roadmap includes multiple national and collegiate tournaments, open-entry competitions, and regular co-branded events, all aimed at fostering a vibrant competitive scene.
VALORANT Mobile’s push into esports has already begun, with several events hosted during its closed beta. Bobby Jin Yibo, CEO of TJ Sports and Head of VALORANT Mobile publishing at Tencent, revealed new features to ensure competitive integrity, including:
- Replay system
- Cheat detection and real-time penalties
- Hardware fingerprint detection to block macros and keyboard-mouse mapping
“Our goal is to recreate PC-level competition while building a player-focused, creativity-driven, and esports-powered ecosystem for all skill levels,” said Bobby Jin Yibo.
Launch Details
The game officially launches in China on August 19, 2025 for iOS and Android, following an announcement at the ChinaJoy Gaming Festival. Pre-registrations have already exceeded 60 million.
At launch, players will get:
- 18 agents
- 7 PC maps
- 2 mobile-exclusive Deathmatch maps
- 10 game modes
While global release details remain unconfirmed, Anna Donlon, Head of VALORANT Studios, emphasized the focus on China, praising the country’s “passion and world-class player base” since VALORANT PC’s 2023 debut.
The developers have also promised ongoing improvements to gameplay, social features, and regular content updates based on community feedback.
