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Riot Games announced the launch of the Valorant Champions Tour Game Changer program, devised for the exposure and representation of women and other genders in Valorant esports.
The Valorant Game Changers initiative is going to start in March, with North America being the first host. The program will feature a series of tournaments, solely for women and marginalized genders of the competitive community.
Valorant sets a precedent with VCT Game Changers
The Valorant Game Changers Series will also accompany a VCT Game Changers Academy initiative to foster the involvement of other genders in the competitive sphere of Valorant. This will help in giving women a grander exposure to the world of esports and encourage more of them to participate.
Game Changers will consist of two core competitive initiatives, the VCT Game Changers Series and the VCT Game Changers Academy. The VCT Game Changers Series will be a set of top tier competitions that will take place in multiple regions around the world during 2021, and it will be similar in scale to last year’s Ignition Series tournaments.
The second part of this program, the VCT Game Changers Academy, will create monthly tournaments, giving players even more opportunities to compete at the semi-pro and grassroots level. Academy events will be organized in partnership with GALORANTs, one of the largest communities within VALORANT.
Women often face discrimination in-game, which is something the Valorant devs are working on. They are looking into the voice comms and voice chat options to minimize any sort of harassment that is caused.
The Valorant producers were highly impressed by the numbers, as well as the support that the "For The Women Summer Showdown" received last year. While Riot did help in boosting the prizepool and making the tournament grander, they are seemingly looking to take it to a higher level with the Game Changers program.
Anna Donlon, Executive Producer of Valorant said the following about the Game Changers Initiative:
"If we want to build a thriving, competitive scene for VALORANT, which we do, we have to cultivate communities where players can compete together safely. We think Game Changers is an important next step in this, and we can't wait to see things kick off in March. We are dedicated to creating a VALORANT social experience that you deserve, and we look forward to working on that goal together."
