VCT Americas teams reportedly downsizing Valorant operations amid esports winter

VCT Americas teams are expected to downsize their spending in Valorant for 2024, according to a new report.

Multiple organizations with Valorant teams in the Riot Games’ partnered league, VCT Americas, are expected to reduce their spending in the esport come for 2024, according to a report from WIN.gg.

The report comes off the heels of Sentinels starting their public crowdfunding efforts, revealing their financial woes, and multiple esports organizations pulling out of Valorant’s tier-two system.

The report cites unsustainable salary costs as one of the reasons teams are looking to downsize, and names 100 Thieves and Cloud9 as two organizations, among many, that are expected to tamper down players’ wages.

VCT Americas teams downsizing in 2024

The news also comes as the esports winter continues to hit the industry. Mass layoffs are common among esports companies at the moment. 100 Thieves and The Guard, two organizations in VCT Americas, both experienced layoffs recently.

Other teams like Cloud9 have also pulled back their investment in certain esports, opting to focus their capital on a select few competitions. Cloud9’s CEO Jack Etienne said in March 2023 that he was “controlling costs” with his Valorant team. The organization parted ways with Jaccob ‘yay’ Whiteaker and Anthony ‘vanity’ Malaspina due to role issues at that time and rebuilt its Valorant roster with two lesser-known players. Who, presumably, commanded less compensation than their star counterparts.

“We’re in a great place financially and I aim to keep it that way by controlling costs in a time when sponsorships are tight,” The CEO said at the time. “I’m planning for the long term.”

The minimum salary for players in VCT Americas is $50,000. Before the partnered leagues were created in 2023, some North American players were commanding salaries in the $30,000 a month range, according to the report.

Teams are expected to bring in some revenue from their participation in the Riot Games’ league, through an annual stipend, in-game skin sales and other incentive-based compensation from the developer. However, that money may not cover all of the expenses involved in participating in the league.

Teams can also earn money through prize pools in the league and international tournaments, or by qualifying for Valorant Champions and earning a split of the revenue from the limited-edition skin bundle.