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Valorant, the shooter game developed by Riot Games is considered one of the most played games in India right now. For this reason, streamers all over the country lean towards this game when making content for their viewers.
Moin “WerewolfX” Rathod is a well-known streamer with over 250k followers. The streamer, who previously had a history with Global Esports, entertains his viewers by playing a variety of games such as Valorant, GTA 5, and others.
WerewolfX has a dream that India's PC gaming scene can change with Valorant
In an exclusive conversation with Sportskeeda Esports' Amlan “M4DM4N” Roy, Moin “WerewolfX” Rathod opens up about his journey and thoughts on Indian esports scene.
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Q: Moin, everyone on Booyah knows you as WerewolfX. Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself, maybe something even your fans don’t know of? Also, what pushed you on taking up the mantle of a video game content creator?
Moin: I'm excited to share this side of my story. I would like to start with my gaming name as it has an interesting story behind it and I want the readers to know about it.
When I was in college, me and my friends used to visit gaming cafes after classes. During our stay in gaming cafes, I spent most of my time playing FPS games. I became so engrossed in it that the games gradually transformed my calm personality into a completely different one!
It was during that time when I became quite aggressive and started raging while playing video games. I was so loud while playing games that people started calling me Bhedeya (wolf) of the cafe! After a short period of time, I decided to keep my gaming name WerewolfX as it resonated with my personality back then.
If I talk about some personal things in my life, which many of my viewers and fans don't know about, is that I got married in 2018. When I got married, I was just a casual gamer who played games for fun and was unaware of how my life was going to change.
After my marriage, I understood that we need money to sustain a happy married life. The passion I had for PC gaming did not earn a dime. Then one day, after a discussion with my friend, I decided to start a career in the gaming industry as a content creator. The idea behind it was that it would help me play games as well as earn some money from it.
Q: There are many streamers in India who provide different content to their viewers. Did you have everything figured out for yourself or did you face some challenges?
Moin: When I started streaming there were already a bunch of streamers in India, I mean in the mainstream scene. It was really difficult for me to get the information needed to start streaming as I didn’t know how to set up streams, how to interact with viewers and sustain them. However, my main goal was to figure out how I can earn while streaming games. You won’t believe I streamed unlisted games for like 15 days because no one was there to guide me on how to.
During that period I started dedicating time to my Youtube channel and after months I got the results of my hard work. I received an amount of 120 USD through streaming, I was happy as it was like a dream come true. Every person on Earth wishes to earn from their passion, and to earn from something which was derided as useless by my parents made me feel victorious.
Q: Every distinguished streamer has a moment where everything starts changing. Which moment felt like it was going to be a game-changer for you?
Moin: The moment I actually felt satisfied with my decision to make streaming a career was when I got an email that changed my life. It was a contract for Global Esports to join them as their content creator.
Upon reading the email I felt like I was in the air and started crying, something that seemed impossible to me was becoming a reality. After being fully dedicated to my new organization, I went on a rampage of making different types of content for my viewers. These viewers gave me an immense amount of support and pushed me forward in my journey. As I went on climbing the success ladder, I started signing more deals from streaming services like Loco, Nimo TV, and others as well.
As my contract of being a content creator for Global Esports was coming to an end, I finally decided to make a big decision. Getting acquainted with the corporate side of streaming, I felt ready to take a step forward to becoming a permanent member of another organization. Soon after I came to know that Booyah was hiring PC streamers and I contacted them.
On getting the contract from Booyah, I realized that at this stage of my life I could use all the experience that I had accumulated over the years. If everything goes well and good for me then the sky's the limit.
When I initially joined Booyah, I felt like I was back home after a long struggle. The staff and streamers were so innovative and friendly that I wanted to be like them, and I started doing things I never expected. Honestly, I have to say that Booyah is a place for streamers that helps them to discover their inner talent. Not only that, but the platform also assists these streamers by pushing them and acting as a backbone in their success.
On an ending note, I can proudly say that I am obliged to be here and never going to leave this platform or the team behind it. I believe we can do wonders together and make a lasting impact on the Indian gaming scene.
Q: Booyah is mostly known to be a mobile gaming creator platform, however, you have been streaming PC content and have come quite far. Do your viewers relate with the content you stream on the platform?
Moin: When I first started streaming on Booyah, I felt a bit nervous as I did not know how I could cater PC games to audiences who are more acquainted with mobile games. However, later on, after streaming for more than a month, it got easier for me to create a bond with them. The audiences were ready to accept new changes and eventually started watching PC games.
They responded so well, that I started to educate them about the PC community being the home ground of esports. I explained to them how important it is to support all kinds of gaming platforms to make esports grow in India as well.
Q: WerewolfX, currently you have a follower of more than 250K on Booyah and still growing. Did you anticipate any of it when you started your Booyah career? How were the initial days when you started streaming?
Moin: When I started streaming on Booyah, reaching 100k felt like a distant dream. I had no idea how to attract viewers or what type of content would pique their interest. However, I was astounded by how the Booyah team created an atmosphere to help me reach the platform's audience.
Everyone, from my manager to my friends, had a significant impact on my development. They were all very helpful and were ready to help me whenever I needed, making everything easy for me. It is comfortable to work with such people around who are dedicated to helping me reach my goal.
Q: In most households of India, parents think gaming can’t lead to a real job from which one can earn a living. Were your parents supportive when you started your journey as a streamer? Can you share the hardships you faced when you started?
Moin: In India, the most difficult part for a gamer/streamer is to convince their parents about their plan to start a career in gaming. So when I started my parents acted as most parents do. They were really disappointed in me and weren’t happy about my decision to take up streaming as a career.
After putting a lot of effort into my streams, it started to pay off later on. As a stable flow of income poured in, I was able to pay my bills and felt more relaxed. My parents always wanted me to take up a career that can secure my daily bread.
As time went on, I began to educate my parents about gaming and how big the market is, in terms of money. To help them understand, I discussed all of the opportunities I have to work, learn, and earn all at the same time.
There is one more reason behind my success with my streaming career, and that would be my wife. She supported me with every decision I made during my journey, and has been a backbone, both in my life and in my esports career.
Q: You’ve been seen playing Valorant on streams. What do you think of Valorant’s esports scene in India? Also, do you have any favorite team that you can vouch for?
Moin: The relationship between me and Valorant is quite old. As I said earlier, I used to be an FPS player before entering the streaming scene. In the past, I used to participate in Counter-Strike tournaments, and I still relish those memories. I loved the feeling of being under pressure when playing in a tournament and still miss it.
If we talk about the Valorant scene in India, I think it has one of the biggest viewer bases here. Valorant has a growing community in India because most of the former CS:GO professionals took the game up as a new opportunity. As it is known, the VCC finals got a lot of attention in India as well as in other countries. So, from my perspective, I think Valorant will become the key to the success of Indian esports.
As I mentioned earlier, I used to work as a content creator at Global Esports, so I have a certain emotional bond with them. To speak of a team I really vouch for, it has to be Global Esports, when it comes to the Valorant professional scene. This support is not just because of my connection with them, but also due to the outstanding performance they showed in the tournament finals. One more thing, let’s go, SK Rossi!
Q: WerewolfX, since you like playing Valorant on streams. Do you have any particular agent that you enjoy playing? What role do you like to play when playing the game?
Moin: In Valorant, I really love to play as a duelist and also a Raze main, but picking her depends on the team chemistry. I don’t like to insta-lock when playing Valorant, I always wait for others to pick their agents and then choose accordingly. If I’m not picking Raze, then I’m usually seen picking Omen to help my team with smokes.
If you ask me why I love playing Raze, it is because I have adapted well to her set abilities in Valorant. To play Raze, you have to be very fast and have a good reaction time to handle her properly, so it favors me in-game.
Q: Grand Theft Auto 5 Roleplays have also done great on your Booyah channel. What are your thoughts on what your viewers enjoy when you RP in GTA 5?
Moin: I will be honest here, I have not done any GTA RP on Booyah yet. However, I am planning on doing so shortly, and I’m pretty sure my viewers will also enjoy watching it too.
To me, the best part of GTA RP is making a unique character that resembles the viewership of a streamer. The day I start playing GTA RP on Booyah, I’ll love to play as a supervillain who is wanted by every cop in the city.
Q: When choosing a game for content, what made you choose GTA 5 for streaming? Is there any special reason behind it or did you just do it because you wanted to?
Moin: Being a new streamer on Booyah, it was tough for me to decide on what game I should pick to start with. So, I decided to play GTA 5, as it resonated more with my viewers’ taste.
Story mode games are much more interesting for the new viewers to adapt to. I knew that I have to become a bridge between PC and mobile games. So the best thing to play was a game which has an open-world city, a good storyline, and especially, awesome cars.
When I was a kid I was also attracted to GTA Vice City cause there was nothing complex to understand. GTA has always had a free-roam gameplay experience that anyone can take in without knowing much about the game.
Q: Minecraft has a pretty beloved community in India, however, you don't seem to stream it that much. Why is that?
Moin: It's not that I don't enjoy playing Minecraft, I just don't do so because the game is addictive. Whenever I play Minecraft, time simply passes without any warning. There are times I’ve streamed eight hours of Minecraft because I lost track of time. However, whenever I plan on doing a long stream, Minecraft is my go-to any time, and I will stream more of it soon.
Q: With PC game streamers like you on Booyah, the community has changed a lot. What do you think about Booyah’s growth with PC games?
Moin: If we're talking about the PC gaming section on Booyah, I can guarantee you that this is the next big thing for the platform. Everyone at Booyah, including us streamers, has worked very hard to reach a single goal of making PC gaming get the needed attention in India.
Me and my Booyah streamer friend Nikhil “Trazemag” Upadhyay, both have new content lined up that will definitely catch all the eyeballs on Booyah. Stay tuned as there is a lot coming from us PC streamers on Booyah, and I'm sure it will make a big impact on the platform.
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