The Audacity of Creativity
To celebrate the one-year anniversary of the release of VALORANT, we decided to craft a love letter to the community of players, influencers, and pros who had helped create such a vibrant scene around the fledgling game.
Watch This!
“WATCH” was the marquee video execution for the 1-year anniversary. Besides being a celebration of the community, it was also a flare sent aloft for those curious players on the periphery. It signaled that VALORANT was unlike other games in the space and might be the tactical shooter they’d been waiting for.
This film would not be a run-down of impressive gameplay statistics from the previous year set in motion over a bass-heavy music track. It also wouldn’t be a CG-animated narrative story diving into the lore of the universe of VALORANT.
Instead of a typical gameplay or lore-focused narrative, we dedicated this piece to a core truth of the player experience at the heart of VALORANT. It was a celebration of the audacity of creativity, a visually hyperbolic romp through the player universe of VALORANT. From top-level traditional VFX production to create otherworldly cities and rocket FX simulations to CG character integration, “WATCH” takes the viewer on an unexpected and innovative journey. Each scene features various influencers, player representations, and even DJ Zedd, embodying the stylish, playfully edgy attitude that is the hallmark of the unapologetically global brand of VALORANT.
The Lead-in
to Episode 3
The YR-1 event was occurring just before the start of Episode 3. So, we continued the celebration of the VAL community by including them in many of the executions and activations that happen as part of an episode launch. Players were invited to vote on which skinlines would be included in the Give Back Bundle, a promotional skinline bundle that would make a few select weapon skins that had left the store once again available for purchase. Half the weapon skin and 100% of accessories proceeds were donated to the Riot Games Social Impact Fund. Other in-game promos throughout Episode 3 included a special XP Squad Boost, limited episode-themed player cards, and the Night.Market (individually tailored store offerings).
Community Creators and Regional Teams Take Over
To continue celebrating the audacious creativity fast becoming a hallmark of the VALORANT community, we partnered with a few talented creators to show what was kicking off in Episode 3. After running them through the creative brief dopatwo, Glam, Liquid Enigma, Bolixie, and diyyo helped deliver what is still one of the highest-viewed and most positively received start of episode/act kick-off trailers to date.
One year in and the team just kept raising the bar on what we could achieve for players and the community.
Tone Hoeft / Thiago Gutierrez / Nikki Lewis / Brandon Meier / Eddie Kim / Tim Lembke / Nathan Hower / Madeline Austin-Kulat / Trevor Thernes / Mark Diaz / Jonny Altepeter / Ali Miller / Ke Su / Atey Ghailan / David Nottingham / John Goscicki / Joshua Brian Smith / Chris Hunt / Carl Addy
creative partners:
Global + Hyperlocal
We also worked with regional marketing creative teams to empower then to represent their local VALORANT players across the globe as authentically as possible. Here are a couple standout pieces from the teams in Brazil and the U.S.
All Projects
