NYXL joins list of NA orgs leaving Valorant ahead of Riot franchising

Alan Bernal
nyxl valorant

NYXL (formally AndBox) are leaving Valorant and are allowing their NYFU players to field offers, joining a list of organizations who have left Riot Games’ esport ahead of franchising.

Teams have been pulling out of Valorant as Riot makes headway on vetting future partners for its franchised Valorant league.

The transition to a franchised league has created a list of brands that will no longer be in the competitive Valorant mix moving forward, though some teams are hopeful to someday return.

As a result, many players are taking to social media on July 20 to announce they are looking for teams after being allowed to explore other destinations. Some are from teams like NYXL that are pulling out of the esport.

NYXL disbands Valorant esports team

NYXL Valorant players announced on Wednesday that the club was leaving the esport with many among their ranks looking for their next team.

Players like Andrew ‘ShoT_UP’ Orlowski and Diondre ‘YaBoiDre’ Bond, among others, notified the community of the latest news involving the NYFU project.

“With the recent decisions being made for Valorant franchising, NYXL has decided to pull out of Val and with that I am LFT open to playing any role,” ShoT_UP said. “No hate to NYXL – they put in a ton of effort to produce high quality content and their choice makes complete sense.”

Reports indicate that teams are bowing out of Valorant after unsuccessfully reaching the next step of Riot’s application process on July 20 to enter its upcoming franchised league.

Failing to be accepted into Riot’s premier venture in 2023 means orgs will miss out on international and regional leagues that will provide a continuous means of competition and brand opps.

NYXL leaving Valorant comes on the heels of other orgs making tough decisions on how to proceed forward, like Shopify Rebellion and Akrew, with more likely to follow.

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About The Author

Alan is a former staff writer for Dexerto based in Southern California who covered esports, internet culture, and the broader games/streaming industry. He is a CSUF Alum with a B.A. in Journalism. He's reported on sports medicine, emerging technology, and local community issues. Got a tip or want to talk?