Valorant, the new title recently launched by Riot Games, was always clearly meant as a direct competitior to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. However, it was hard to know how effective a competitor it would prove to be. Now, new data and analysis shows that CS:GO had already seen a significant drop in both revenue and active players even before the full launch of Valorant, while the new title was still in Beta. Notably, the sharp drop comes after an all-time-high for CS:GO’s earnings and player-count in April.
Valorant is On the Rise as CS:GO Figures Drop
Valorant’s Closed Beta and subsequent launch attracted enormous attention online; even more attention than Riot were expecting. The studio had to repeatedly expand access to the Beta due to popular demand. Since then, the game’s launch has been highly successful. However, new analysis from SuperData on the performance of the gaming industry in May 2020 seems to show players abandoning CS:GO in favour of the newer title even before the full launch.
“Counter-Strike: Global Offensive earnings and player numbers fell from an April all-time-high as competing title Valorant prepared to launch,” concludes the May report; “After months of upward momentum, CS:GO revenue shrank by 9% and user numbers fell 6%. During this time, Valorant, the rival tactical shooter from League of Legends maker Riot Games, was in beta and potentially siphoned away CS:GO players.”
Next month, the data will be available to determine whether or not this shift continued or reversed in June. However, the former is certainly more likely, given the apparent success of the game’s launch. Valorant was always likely to do well given Riot’s pedigree and size, of course. However, CS:GO is nonetheless a deeply established multiplayer title, particularly in esports.
Riot has already announced the Valorant Ignition esports tournament, and Ranked Play went live in-game today. As such, it certainly seems that the developer is angling to usurp CS:GO’s place in the esports scene as well. For now, fans will have to wait and see whether the game’s growth continues over time. Or, whether players wind up returning to the more familiar CS:GO after a brief sojourn with Valorant. It’s worth bearing in mind the launch of Apex Legends, which enjoyed enormous but fleeting success. That game saw figures to rival Fortnite in its first few weeks, but players quickly bored of the new title.