Game developer Riot Games has announced that sales of its VCT-themed skin bundle have raised over $10m (~£8.42m) for participating teams.
The bundle, which sports VCT-themed visual branding and animations, has been on sale since February 8th. In total, 50% of the proceeds from the bundle’s sale have gone to VCT partner teams from the Americas, Pacific and EMEA regions that competed at the recent LOCK//IN tournament in São Paulo.
The tournament saw all 30 partnered VCT teams, plus Chinese organisations Edward Gaming (EDG) and FunPlus Phoenix (FPX) compete for a chance to win a share of $500,000 (~£406,220) in prize money. It was eventually won by European organisation Fnatic, with the team earning an extra regional slot for the upcoming VCT Masters event in Japan in June.
Concluding March 4th, the tournament became the second-most-watched VALORANT event in history, attracting around 1.43m peak viewers and around 430,000 average with just over 100 hours of on-air time, according to Esports Charts. Just 60,000 viewers separated the season kick-off tournament from the most-watched VALORANT event ever— VALORANT Champions 2022.
The VCT is no stranger to generating revenue for its teams through in-game items. Ahead of the 2022 VCT Champions event, a limited-edition bundle generated over $16m (~£12.9m) in revenue split between the qualifying teams. Masters-themed bundles are a staple of the game’s esport ecosystem.
The 30 newly-partnered teams also receive an annual stipend from Riot Games, alongside upcoming opportunities to participate in further in-game activations and products.
The VCT is not unique in sharing revenue from in-game items with esports organisations. Valve announced in August 2022 that it had shared over $70m (~£59m) with CS:GO teams and players over the last year.
