Speculation is rife that a mobile version of Riot Games’ hit shooter Valorant could launch as soon as this weekend after the game was approved for release in China just days before Summer Games Fest kicks off.
An updated list of Western games that are approved to be launched in China was released earlier in the week, with Valorant: Operation Primal listed as one of the games and categorized as a mobile title. This follows months of speculation and leaks about the Valorant mobile project, with Riot Games being fairly quiet about its progress.
While the approval itself does not mean that a mobile version of Valorant is launching anytime soon, the timing is more than a little convenient. This weekend the Valorant Masters Shanghai tournament will take place, with the best Valorant teams in the world competing for a $1 million prize in China.
Then there is also Summer Games Fest, the annual presentation of major announcements in the gaming space. In a post on X the host of the event, Geoff Keighley, released an image showing the companies that would be involved with the event and Riot Games is on the list.
So with the approval in China coming just days before these two events, it feels like there is a very good chance that Valorant: Operation Primal could be shown at one or both of them, before launching soon after. If it has been approved in China that would likely mean a near final version has been submitted for approval, so likely exists in a playable form.
Of course with the approval in China and, as of yet, nowhere else there could be a soft launch in China, or perhaps Asia in general given the popularity of mobile gaming, before it heads to the West. A truly global launch for a big new mobile game is fairly rare these days, with many choosing a soft launch in a couple of regions to test with a proper player base.
There is also a chance that this is all completely incorrect and we will get some smaller themed Valorant announcements over the coming weekend. We are still waiting to find out what new content will be added for the current act, after the release of new agent Clove was pushed back last act, messing up the usual release timings. There’s a good chance we will get a first look at whatever new content is coming in the next patch at the Masters Shanghai tournament this weekend.
Many also believe that Riot’s involvement with the Summer Games Fest is all about 2XKO, the new League of Legends themed fighting game that is gearing up for release next year. With the game getting a proper name and being shown off more it would make sense for this to be the focus of what Riot wants to show off.
But my gut says that it is too much of a coincidence that a mobile Valorant game was approved just days before the biggest gaming news event of the year, so my money is on Valorant: Operation Primal being shown at some point over the next few days.
