VALORANT Mobile Hits 10M Daily Players Despite Being China-Only

VALORANT Mobile has crossed 10M daily active players in China, Riot Games announced via Weibo on May 3. The milestone arrives nine months into a China-exclusive launch that has consistently outperformed expectations, and with still no word from Riot on when the rest of the world will get access.

The game launched on August 19, 2025, at China Joy, after over 70M pre-registrations. Tencent named it the biggest mobile game launch of 2025 in China by both daily active users and gross revenue in its first month. By November 2025, the combined VALORANT and VALORANT Mobile player base in China had crossed 50M monthly active users, with the PC version alone peaking at 2M concurrent players in a single day.

A China-First Strategy That has Become a Long Wait

The decision to launch in China exclusively was framed by Riot as deliberate. Anna Donlon, head of VALORANT Studios, explained at launch that China had one of the largest and most competitive mobile FPS communities in the world. She explained that it made sense to start where Lightspeed Studios, Tencent's development arm that co-built the game, had the deepest expertise. The China launch serves as a technical test before a global rollout.

That framing by Riot Games made sense in August 2025. Nine months and 10M daily players later, the "we will update you as our plans develop further" statement Riot issued at launch remains the most recent official communication on a global release. No beta date, no regional rollout announcement, and no window have been confirmed. 

VALORANT Mobile Can Become a Top Mobile Esports Title

VALORANT Mobile’s infrastructure has been tested under a player load that most live service games never reach. The competitive ecosystem, backed by a $200M investment from Riot and Tencent in mobile esports, includes a national league and major Chinese organization involvement. The April 2026 update introduced the newest playable character, Vyse, and a 6v6 Warm-up Team Deathmatch mode, which signals continued investment by Riot Games into the title.  

The PC version of VALORANT had approximately 28M monthly players globally as of October 2023, before the mobile version existed. A global mobile rollout, given the scale of the China numbers, would likely push the franchise's combined audience to a level that reframes Riot's position in mobile entirely. For now, global players remain where they have been since August 2025. They are waiting on an announcement that Riot has given no timeline for.