Riot releases first version of competitive VALORANT rules prior to First Strike event

VALORANT’s head of competitive operations for esports Alex Francois discussed the importance of clear rules and policies in today’s blog post.

First Strike will be the first Riot-produced VALORANT event, taking place in various regions around the world. And Riot outlined the rules and policies that all competitors will be expected to “accept and agree to abide by.”

“The vast majority of rule violations can be prevented by writing clear rules and being responsive to teams and players who are seeking clarification,” Francois said. “As VALORANT esports continues to grow, my goal is to institute the greatest possible clarity and transparency for the participants of the competitive ecosystem.”

The first version of VALORANT‘s Global Competition Policy covers everything from eligibility and roster requirements to competitive integrity. With several unethical instances of match-fixing and exploits having surfaced in the competitive CS:GO scene over the years, including the recent ESIC investigation into a coach spectating bug, Riot’s rulebook took a clear stance against anything of the sort.

“Intentionally using any in-game bug to seek an advantage is exploiting and is prohibited,” the rules say. “Team members may confidentially check with the referee at the beginning of a Competition to determine if a specific act would be considered Exploiting.”

VALORANT‘s anti-cheat team will also review suspicious behavior during competitive events to identify any players potentially using unfair tactics.

Riot creating its own uniform rulebook is an important step toward the health of VALORANT‘s competitive ecosystem. By maintaining full transparency with competitors, there should be little gray area in what is and isn’t prohibited.