Valorant Mobile: China's Biggest Mobile Launch of 2025, and the Long Wait for Everyone Else

When Valorant launched on PC in 2020, one of its selling points was precision. Riot built a tactical shooter where a single headshot could decide a round, where crosshair placement mattered more than reflexes, and where competitive integrity was sacred. Putting that on a touchscreen sounded close to impossible. In August 2025, Riot and Tencent did it anyway, at least in China.

Valorant Mobile, co-developed by Riot Games and Tencent, launched in China on 19 August 2025. It arrived with more than 70 million pre-registrations, and Tencent later described it in its financial report as the biggest mobile game launch of the year in China. Riot and Tencent reported more than 50 million monthly active users in China across Valorant on PC and mobile combined.

What arrived on phones

The mobile version keeps the core of Valorant: two teams of five, attackers planting a bomb, defenders stopping them, and agents with signature abilities layered on top of precise gunplay. At launch it offered nearly 20 agents, 7 maps and 8 game modes, with some cosmetics designed exclusively for mobile players.

Before launch, Tencent and Riot announced a $200 million multi-year investment plan covering content, technical and social infrastructure and a competitive ecosystem. That is unusually large for a single mobile title, and it signals that both companies see this as a long-term esports project, not just a port.

The launch-day numbers

According to figures reported by Bloomberg, the game was downloaded about 170,000 times on its first day and earned close to $1 million on iOS in its early period. Those numbers sound small next to some gacha launches, but they reflect a different model. Valorant sells cosmetics, not power, so spending per player is usually lower and the business depends on very large, long-lived audiences.

Esports followed quickly. Tencent is supporting competitive circuits and a national league, with famous Chinese organisations such as EDward Gaming and All Gamers fielding teams, and a growing college scene.

Why China first

China has the world's biggest mobile esports audience, and Tencent already runs giant mobile shooters there, as well as Honor of Kings. A Chinese launch let Riot and Tencent test a mobile Valorant in a market where they control publishing, marketing and esports at once. It also avoided a direct clash with Tencent's own global mobile shooters. And it gave the developers time to tune touch controls with millions of real players before facing the even more demanding Western competitive community.

What about the rest of the world?

As of our latest check, Riot had not announced a worldwide release date for the mobile version, nor confirmed which regions would come first. Speculation has been constant, and in July 2026 a Valorant Mobile logo surfaced ahead of gamescom 2026, fuelling fresh hopes. Until Riot confirms a date, the mobile game remains a China-only product.

WGC's take

Valorant Mobile showed that a precision shooter can work on phones if it is built with care and backed by serious money. Its Chinese success, 70 million sign-ups and a national league in its first year, is a strong argument for a global release. When it comes, it will collide with PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty: Mobile and Free Fire, and that fight will be one of the most interesting in mobile gaming, for players and esports fans alike.