Players Accuse Riot Games of Enabling Smurfing to Boost Microtransactions
VALORANT players are claiming that Riot Games is intentionally allowing smurf accounts to thrive in order to generate more microtransaction sales. Many players believe that Riot has been ignoring requests for stricter measures against smurfing, such as implementing a mobile verification system, because smurfs contribute significantly to the game’s revenue through content and skin purchases.
Last year, Riot made over $16 million from the VCT Champions 2022 bundle alone, which has led players to suspect that the company is aware of the financial benefits of smurf accounts. Players have also noticed similarities between smurfing issues in VALORANT and other Riot titles, as discussed in a Reddit thread.
Interestingly, the problem of smurfing isn’t limited to VALORANT; it also exists in League of Legends.
Some players claim that Riot actually benefits from smurfs, as the increased player count and additional skin purchases contribute to the company’s profits.
The Frustration of Players
While some players simply wish that Riot would at least appear to be making an effort to address the smurfing problem, others believe that solving the issue is much more challenging than anticipated.
Attempts to deter smurfing in games like Overwatch 2 and CS:GO have not been successful and have even resulted in backlash from the community, causing the developers to abandon the idea entirely.
Furthermore, some players believe that smurfing will continue as long as there are ways to bypass phone-based prevention methods, leaving Riot developers with incomplete solutions.
It’s evident that Riot developers are struggling against smurfing, but they are not alone in facing this challenge. Many competitive esports communities are grappling with the same issue.
VALORANT, Riot Games, smurfs, microtransactions, League of Legends, skin purchases, mobile verification, revenue, Reddit, community backlash, competitive esports