Valorant and esports go hand-in-hand. Even casual fans who have only played the game for a couple of months have a vague idea of the teams that regularly compete in Valorant's professional scene. Players having access to tournament brackets and team information in the game itself is one of the main reasons why the link between casual and competitive fans exists.
Between die-hard Valorant esports fans and the casual community we have the VCT Team Capsules. Introduced in 2024, these esports bundles were released to promote Valorant's top-flights in the game as well as offering players a customized way to represent their favorite teams.
As skins, the VCT Team Capsules did the job. Every bundle included a skin for the Classic, the game's most popular handgun. Moreover, each bundle included a customized player card, a gun charm, and a spray. Keep that one in your mind because that last detail is very important.
By purchasing a VCT Team Capsule, part of the money would be given to the teams competing in Valorant's top flights. Throughout the 2024 esports season, the VCT Team Capsules proved to be a huge success. According to Leo Faria, Global Head of Valorant esports, "we were able to share $44.3M from digital goods with teams" which came from VCT Team Capsules and Valorant Champions 2024 collection sales.
In September 2024, shortly after the conclusion of the Valorant Champions 2024, Riot Games removed the esports section and the VCT Team Capsules from Valorant. It made sense; after all, there wouldn't be more top-flight Valorant matches until the second week of January 2025.
With the arrival of Season 2025 to Valorant, Riot Games released multiple updates to the game, including a new agent called Tejo, who quickly stole the show, the VCT 2025 Team Capsules, as well as other tweaks. Let's stick to the esports side.
As revealed by Riot Games, the VCT 2025 Team Capsules would still be Classic-exclusive. "Like a team jersey, it’s always in play, making it the perfect canvas for fans to showcase their loyalty," Riot Games stated. Surprisingly enough, not many fans have complained about it. Instead, the fans' backlash is targeted to the bundles' player cards.
In last season's bundles, esports teams had full control over the design of the player card, making each one of them truly unique and loyal to the organization's identity. However, in this season's bundles, every team has the same player card as the only changes are found in the logo and the colors.
Giving a quick look at the replies to Valorant's post unveiling the VCT 2025 Team Capsules is enough to have an idea of the community's thoughts. Some of the most liked replies contain the words "underwhelming", "disappointing", or "downgrade."
Overall, it's difficult to not understand the fans' complaints. Despite minimal details, like the Classic animation displaying international championships won or EDward Gaming's player card having a reference to the team's win at the Valorant Champions 2024, the cards lack identity as no differential elements are displayed.
For instance, in G2 Esports' VCT 2024 Team Capsule, which is displayed in the first picture of this article, the team's player card has the team's iconic samurai mask. Leviatán, the third-highest sold VCT 2024 Team Capsule, included the team's dragon. Plain and simple, teams had the chance to customize as they pleased their player cards, offering players the chance to feel even more part of the team. However, Riot Games has taken more control of this part of the bundle.
If the clear lack of creativity and identity in the VCT 2025 Team Capsules wasn't enough, the last straw is found in Valorant's comment about the new player cards, as they defined them as player cards with a "premium finish, showcasing team identity and creativity."
After all, what really counts is the economical side of the story. If the bundles outperform last year's VCT Team Capsules, we will likely see something similar happening in next season's items. Unfortunately, the players' initial thoughts about the bundles are negative. Only time will tell if Riot Games' decision has been the right one.
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