VALORANT’s fans at the Esports World Cup are worried that the game is “dying” forever.

If you are connected to Esports World Cup expect the usual high-octane crowd and chaos you usually find during a Grand Final match, you might notice that things are a little quieter. Like, “empty cultural space” is silent.

According to the latest statistics from Esports Charts, THE VALORANT it hit hard in the viewership department compared to last year. We’re looking at a painful 45% drop in viewership and a 13% drop in total hours watched.

Naturally, the folks at X are freaking out and questioning whether the game is officially entering its flop season. You know, the whole “dead game” thing that esport fans play when the game loses one viewer.

But is the hype train really derailed?

If you take a closer look at the tournament bracket, it’s very easy to see why the main stream was lonely. First, fan favorites like it They don’t wait, Gen.Gagain Fnatic he didn’t even make the trip to Paris.

Then, the famous groups that he did they came up and decided to pack their bags early. Our beloved kings are chaotic Paper Rex He was eliminated from the group stage, which took a huge toll on viewers in the Pacific region. The same fate befalls EMEA favorites such as Karmine Corp again Gentle Friends.

When we got to the Grand Finals, we were left with an all-American competition 100 Thieves again NRG. While that was an epic moment for 100 Thieves fans, the NA finals alone don’t herald a “global event.”

To make matters worse, the holy grail of VALORANT viewership, the community’s moderators, were absent from the action. Tarik didn’t broadcast the event at all, and other big creators saw their numbers cut in half. It turns out that if you don’t have your favorite internet people shouting at the screen, most casual fans would rather do anything else.

It’s also worth noting that VALORANT is playing in a very crowded sandbox, and the older kids are starting to get their toys back. During the Esports World Cup, Dota 2The survival phase managed to attract more than 264,000 viewers. Remember that was a mid-stage qualifier, not even a grand final. VALORANT’s the original The Grand Finals peaked at 248,000. I feel like most people can relate to why that looks really bad.

Then you have eternal competition for your sibling Counter-Strike 2. If you read Jonno Nicholson’s recent report on the battle for tactical shooters, the gap is starting to look like a canyon. In one weekend, CS2’s IEM Cologne is complete broken records an all-time high of 2.75 million viewers. On the other side of the pond, the VCT Masters London peaked at around one million.

Counter-Strike has been around since the beginning of the millennium, and its fans are very loyal. When forced to choose, casual shooter fans tend to click on the classics.

So, is the game really dying, or is this just a temporary bump in the road?

Looking at the wider season, the warning signs are there. VCT Stage 1 saw record low viewing across the Americas and EMEA. Part of it may be the crazy speed of the meta change. It’s hard for fans to stay invested when the pro scene feels like a revolving door, with new teams rising and falling before anyone can remember their lineup.

If we compare VALORANT to Street Fighter 6 or Overwatch, yes, it does amazing. Saying VALORANT is “dead” is a bit extreme (though that hasn’t stopped gamers from throwing the phrase around). But I think that even VALORANT fans have started to express concern about the decrease in viewership of this game. Something just doesn’t click for hardcore esports fans, especially when there are other titles to watch.

The Esports World Cup is not a good representation of VALORANT’s strength due to the lack of co-organizers and popular teams. Although… If you need broadcasters together to attract viewers, does that mean your game can’t do that on its own? I would argue that this means that VALORANT does not sustain interest without the help of broadcasters.

Not to mention that many sports fans don’t tune in to watch the Esports World Cup because of its constant controversies and its bad reputation as a try-hard, casual event. Also, the EWC tournament doesn’t really run, so fans don’t have many opportunities to watch.

It also brought VALORANT’s competition closer together, with concurrent tournaments that also highlighted VALORANT’s younger fans compared to more established titles. It wouldn’t look good to compete with VALORANT and Dota 2.

But I think we still can’t completely ignore views highlighted by Esports Charts.

VALORANT isn’t going away tomorrow, but the days of easily breaking the internet may be behind us. Riot Games may need to spice things up, or at the very least, urge their top streamers to never take a day off again.