Game developer Riot Games has announced that European esports organisation Fnatic has sold the most VCT EMEA in-game team capsules as of March 2024.
The announcement revealed that French rivals Gentle Mates and Karmine Corp are currently in second and third, followed by Spanish organisation KOI and Ukrainian team Natus Vincere in fourth and fifth, respectively.
The VCT capsules are in-game cosmetic bundles, each representing one of the 44 VALORANT Champions Tour teams partnered with Riot Games. Launched in late February, every capsule contains a Classic skin, an exclusive gun buddy and spray set, as well as a custom player card co-created by the teams.
As 50% of the generated profits are shared with the teams, the initiative aims to evolve Riot’s tradition of supporting esports organisations through in-game item sales. Last year’s profit-sharing VCT bundles earned partnered organisations a total of $33m (~£26.1m) while promoting VALORANT esports among the game’s player base.
The most popular VCT EMEA capsules were unveiled right before the start of the league’s Stage 1. Running from April 3rd until May 12th, Stage 1 represents the first half of VCT EMEA’s 2024 format. The second stage will be held from June 18th – July 19th. The stages will contribute to qualifications for Masters Shanghai in May and VCT Champions Seoul in August.
The 2024 VCT season began with regional kickoff events in February, followed by an international Masters event. Masters Madrid became the most-watched VALORANT competition in the history of the esport thanks to the grand final between Gen.G and Sentinels. Nearly 1.69m peak viewers watched VCT Americas representatives, Sentinels, win the trophy.
With two international VALORANT trophies, Fnatic has grown a significant fanbase, especially within the EMEA region. However, this was not enough to take the global lead in terms of capsule popularity. As of March 24th, Paper Rex’s bundle has sold the most copies.
Competing in VCT Pacific, the Singaporean organisation recently launched a gaming chair in collaboration with Secretlab and secured a peripherals partnership with Pulsar.
A Riot Games representative told Esports Insider that additional information on the specific numbers of sales for each VCT EMEA team will not be shared.
