VALORANT continues to fear testing the Nanobomb even during pride month
Pride Month is a month-long celebration of the LGBTQ+ community, and many sports are finding ways to participate. The frenzy is burning again after a bunch of Give Back V26 THE VALORANT leaked during Pride Month, pushing the straight couple over their queer agents during this questionable time.
Esports titles are thriving in LGBTQ+ representation, with many new characters identifying as gay, from gay to bi to non-binary. Overwatch and Apex Legends have great lineups when it comes to representation, with Apex in particular having the best stories and relationships.
I mean, Bloodhound and Fuse, hello!?! And this relationship is not just. There are jokes, short films, voice lines, and lots of hints and character development leading up to it. The relationships feel earned and whole, not just thrown in there to float around in the gaming community.
VALORANT lags behind with this kind of representation. Unlike Overwatch and Apex Legends, VALORANT generally will not directly confirm any direction or identity of its agents.
One confirmed couple is Killjoy and Raze. When Killjoy was added to the game, the voice lines created a lot of speculation. Riot shared a romantic sketch of the two agents together in December 2022. This made Killjoy and Raze the most talked about relationship in VALORANT.
Despite all the love between Killjoy and Raze, who fans call Nanobomb, Riot hasn’t done much with the pair. You would think that Pride Month would be the perfect time to put a little effort into their education, but that was not the case.
In the Give Back V26 bundle, we received in-game rewards including Viper and Chamber. This cis couple rubbed people the wrong way even when the relationship was first revealed, since Viper seems to hate her in the game. Including them during Pride Month was a huge source of frustration.
Reactions to the leak included enthusiastic responses such as: “These bad cards are completely unfit for a dog ship*** Riot couldn’t even make the slightest effort to make sense if they tried. Well done.”
Also: “Viper x Chamber may actually be the worst Ship ever.”
Then: “Explain why you’re releasing unsolicited direct ship cards while completely ignoring the love interest couples you have for Pride Month. F**k you. Really.”
Someone at Riot admitted in 2022 that some regional markets are censoring LGBTQ+ content. And this is something Riot cares about. Obviously.
“The filming of minor characters from games in countries with a poor record on LGBT+ rights is deplorable and proves that nothing is more important than making a lot of money,” Twitch host Ben Austwick said at the time.
The continued laziness surrounding VALORANT’s one confirmed original couple, while continuing to talk about a highly toxic and forced relationship, is not something to be ignored.
During Pride Month, it almost feels intentional.
