Entertainment
The game’s fifth anniversary arrived with a two-day immersive zone featuring battles, cosplay, exclusive merch and a playlist that showcased VALORANT’s’ global musical identity.
VALORANT marked its fifth anniversary with a sonic crossover, linking up with Rolling Loud’s Indian debut on Nov. 22 and 23 head at Loud Park in Navi Mumbai. Across two days, the exclusive immersive zone, which was part battleground and part listening lounge, attracted fans and concertgoers alike.
With artists from the Rolling Loud lineup like NAV and Swae Lee also leading double lives as rappers and VALORANT players, the VALORANT zone seamlessly blended the hip-hop music festival’s raging energy with Riot Games’ maximalist world-building through creativity, music, and a pulsating fandom spirit.
Unfolding like a multisensorial maze, the activation was packed with 1v1 battle arenas, limited edition merchandise, cosplay cameos, and a listening booth that pumped out VALORANT’s featuring high-octane soundtracks. While some queued to get face tattoos like their favorite agents from the game, others sprayed strokes to complete the larger-than-life mural of Gekko, an agent known for his whimsical and playful nature. Keeping the drip check in mind, VALORANT also collaborated with Indian streetwear label Genrage to bring limited-edition merchandise for audiences to cop.
At the heart of the space, duels erupted in the 1v1 pit, while fans posed against the musical backdrop featuring analog nostalgia-coded vinyl records decorated with official album artworks. Keeping up with the physical media thematics, miniature versions of the official VALORANT playlist, in the shape of vinyl NFC-enabled keychains, were handed out to attendees, through which they could access the playlist on their phones with just a tap, while photo booths printed memories on demand. Audiences also huddled along with KAY/O, Brimstone, Raze and Jett cosplayers to grab a photo with their favorite gaming characters in real life.
Drawing closer to the core was the listening booth, which had the official VALORANT playlist, consisting of 48 tracks, a mix of global sounds and genres into one seamless shot of adrenaline.
Be it hip-hop, synthwave, hyperpop or even metal, Riot Games’ dynamic musical identity was reflected across its catalog. From projects like K/DA to Arcane’s soundtrack, these tracks have long served as catalysts for tying culture, community, worldbuilding and music into one, sonic knot. Even pivotal e-sports moments, such as VCT Masters, VCT champions are scored by global, original anthems that capture the pulse of the season.
That same ethos was embedded into the on-site playlist. Take, for instance, the all-time favorite “Renegade” ft. 99 God and C103, hitting every beat with its killer flow and razor-sharp production. Spin the playlist on shuffle and you get “One Punch” ft. Milli, a triumphant rager that scores every opponent knock-out defiantly, while the lucid “Visions” ft. Eaj and Safari Riot echoes Labrinth’s “Formula.” Need a mellow tune for late-night gaming sessions? You’ve the moody, afro-beat infused “Ego” ft. Qing Madi for that. For celebrating those victory laps, Katseye’s “M.I.A Game Changers Version” gets the job done. Among these, “Raja,” ft. Tienas and ARB4, the official theme for VALORANT’s Indian agent, Harbor interlaces Indo-Western fusion with hip-hop swagger. The multilingual track shuttles between Hindi and English verses, combining Indian mythos and desi production elements like the Sitar, as a crescendo of electrifying beats paces the climax. Spanning across languages and borders, the playlist solidified the bond between music and gaming, exemplifying how soundscapes not just act as background noise, but also emotional pulse points of gameplay itself.
For fans circling the activation, this blend of music and worldbuilding felt personal. Dressed in a head-to-toe DIY costume and gear, designer, cosplayer and gamer, Priya Sarsaiya embodied the character of Raze, the Brazilian duelist agent who also doubles as a graffiti artist, down to the last detail. An ardent fan and also a visual designer, she stated how VALORANT’s detail-oriented approach extends not just to their vibrant art style, but also to their music videos. These videos spotlight character-driven arcs that are enriched with backstories, lore and quintessential audio-visual aesthetics of the gaming company. Her favorite tunes reflected this connection: “Ticking Away” as her all-time pick, and “Renegade” as a gaming essential.
Indian Cosplay judge and propmaker Surya Sreenivasan, cosplaying the machismo of agent Liam “Brimstone” Byrne shared a similar sentiment. Having already collaborated with Riot Games to create more than ten props for Indian cosplayers, he also built the weapons wall showcased at the festival. While he was vibing earlier to “Shinpai Muyou” by Yuki Chiba along with Indian gaming streamer Citysushi, or Sakshi, he cheekily chose his current favorite track as “M.I.A Game Changers Version” by Katseye.
From the brand’s perspective, the synergy was emblematic of music and gaming’s spirited bond. Riot Games’ Brand Manager Anushka Bhatnagar explained how Indian gamers are inherently musically inclined, resonating to tracks like “Raja,” for which they got an outpour of positive responses.
For her, VALORANT rests at the intersection of music, culture, gaming, and community, which a global music festival like Rolling Loud India naturally amplifies. “There’s a strong overlap between our audiences at VALORANT and Rolling Loud India,” she said. “We want to be where the players are.” She described how attendees organically bounced between 1v1s , experiential activations, and musical discovery, whether it was listening to the VALORANT playlist amidst the festival madness or simply vibing to the moment. When asked which track she would dedicate to the Indian VALORANT e-sports team, she didn’t hesitate: “Raja.”
All in all, VALORANT and Rolling Loud India’s supersonic link-up underscored Indian audiences’ insatiable appetite for global music. From gaming soundtracks to hip-hop headliners, such sonic collisions of parallel worlds are indicators of what fans and festival-goers are rooting for. Gaming now goes beyond screens and chat rooms, becoming a communal hub. It unites players and concert attendees across cultures, borders and identities, while becoming a playground for discovering their next favorite track.
This story is a paid partnership with VALORANT India