VALORANT has continued to grow year after year, with no slowing down since it released in 2020, thanks to one core demographic.
Riot Games has typically been rather stingy about the official player numbers for most of their titles, forcing those interested in that data to make estimates based on third-party sites. However, a recent report from Bloomberg games reporter Cecilia D’Anastasio revealed a current number, as well as the age group that makes up the majority.
Per the report, VALORANT currently fields 28 million monthly players, which doubles the 14 million monthly mark from 2021. The report also states that 10 million people downloaded VALORANT during the game’s first month in 2020, following the game’s launch in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Riot Games also stated that 70 percent of VALORANT players, which would be roughly 19.6 million monthly players, are from the Generation Z demographic. Gen Z, known more commonly as Zoomers, comprises of young people born between the range of 1996 and 2010, equaling an age range of roughly 13 to 27.
This majority makes sense given Gen Z’s notoriety as the “always online” generation, one that consumes media at a higher rate than most, which leads to the high amount of VALORANT content consumption on sites like Twitch, YouTube, and TikTok. Riot didn’t reveal figures of how much VALORANT players spend, but did note that the amount allows Riot to “keep the game free-to-play” and supplemented with more content and features.
The split between Zoomers and older players is replicated in the game’s pro esports scene as well. Across the international VCT leagues, there are only a handful of players aged 28 or older competing at the highest tier, with a wave of players in the 13-16 range likely to be injected over the next couple of years.
