Riot Games offers up to $100,000 for holes in anti-cheat system of Valorant

By Aaron Mamiit April 19, 2020

Riot Games is offering up to $100,000 to hackers who can find vulnerabilities in Vanguard, the anti-cheat system that was introduced for hero-shooter Valorant.

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Bug bounty for Vanguard
Valorant to roll out in summer 2020

Vanguard has already raised controversy because it is automatically installed on computers after downloading Valorant, and it runs with heightened privileges. In a blog post, Riot Games explained that it was necessary to implement the system in such a manner to better protect players against potential cheaters.

Valorant will not run on a computer that does not have Vanguard, which launches as soon as players turn on their PCs. According to Riot Games, this is to make sure that there is no opportunity to load cheats before starting the game.

Riot Games, however, claimed that Vanguard will not collect and process any personal information other than what is already currently used by the anti-cheat solution in place for League of Legends.

“Riot’s committed to achieving the highest competitive integrity in our games. We want you to play in a world where you never have to doubt your abilities or your opponent’s,” the developer said in its philosophy behind Vanguard.

Bug bounty for Vanguard

Riot Games believes that Vanguard will protect players from cheaters, and that the high privileges that the system requires will not be exploited by hackers. To support this goal, the developer rolled out new rewards in its bug bounty program on HackerOne that are specifically for Vanguard.

“We want players to continue to play our games with peace of mind, and we’re putting our money where our mouth is,” said Riot Games. The bug bounties for Vanguard range from $25,000 to $100,000, with the highest reward for the discovery of a network attack that does not require user interaction with code execution on the kernel level.

Riot Games said that it has awarded nearly $2 million in bounties to security researchers over the past six years of the program on HackerOne, showing its commitment to player security and privacy.

Valorant to roll out in summer 2020

Valorant is currently in closed beta, with Riot Games planning to release the game this summer. There is currently no specific release date, but the developer is already laying down the foundation for the hero shooter’s esports scene.

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Gaming

Overwatch 2 is taking pages from the Valorant playbook

Sojourn uses an ability in Overwatch 2.

Overwatch 2 should have been a surefire hit. The original Overwatch took the world by storm when it was released in 2016 and introduced a fresh take on the hero shooter subgenre established by Team Fortress 2. It had a healthy community, and its sequel would maintain that by not overriding its multiplayer base. In 2022, though, Overwatch 2 is both sorely needed and a controversial title.
In the years since its announcement, Activision Blizzard has lost multiple major developers related to the franchise and reportedly fostered a problematic work environment. Overwatch 2 has been delayed numerous times, and the original Overwatch hasn't received a super-substantial update in almost two years as a result. Fans have since jumped to games like Valorant and Apex Legends.
As the Overwatch community feels frustrated and abandoned and workers organize at Activision Blizzard, Overwatch 2 has lost some of its shine. That's why it makes sense that Blizzard is taking a clever marketing cue from one of its biggest competitors to stay relevant and keep discourse about the game in a place it's happy with.
Sojourn Gameplay Trailer | Overwatch 2
Where we dropping?
Overwatch 2's first PvP beta begins today, finally giving fans a taste of what they've been waiting for through many ups and downs. Players can sign up for a chance to get access to the beta on the Overwatch website, but that's not really the way Blizzard wants to attract people to the game. Instead, it wants players to watch several streamers play the game during a specific timef rame on April 27 to get a beta code via Twitch Drop.
Rolling out the beta in this way will drive engagement and discussion about Overwatch 2, which the game sorely needs. It's all pretty clever, but there's a catch: This has been done before.
Back in 2020, Riot Games had the challenge of introducing Valorant, a brand new IP that was quite similar to Overwatch. Previous Overwatch challenges like Battleborn and Lawbreakers had failed gloriously, and they weren't launching in the middle of a pandemic. It was a tough sell, but Riot Games managed to make its shooter the hottest title of spring 2020.
Leveraging some intrigue in the title and its League of Legends clout, Riot Games gave streamers access to the closed beta and made Twitch Drops the primary way to get beta access. This fear of missing out helped encourage many players to try the game once they finally got access and broke a single-day viewership record on the Amazon platform.
Closed Beta begins in EU/NA - VALORANT
And because Valorant is a well-designed and entertaining multiplayer hero shooter, players stuck around, and its popularity skyrocketed. Valorant is still very relevant today and has kind of taken Overwatch's place during Blizzard's dearth of updates for Overwatch and news about Overwatch 2. Blizzard is fighting from behind to recapture some of the same magic with Overwatch 2, if only for a day.
Defy the limits (of PR)
This Twitch Drop approach is a smart decision for Blizzard. Overwatch 2 has some stiff competition these days and needs to court hardcore fans back to the franchise after scorning them with a lack of updates. A limited-time stunt like these Twitch Drops will likely inflate viewership numbers and bring Valorant and Apex Legends players' attention back to Overwatch 2.
Blizzard was historically a company that charted its own path and found creative and unique ways to promote its games. Now, the best way to ensure Overwatch 2's success is to follow the competition during a beta period. On top of those benefits, this approach keeps the focus on the game itself, not the questions and problematic conditions surrounding its development.

How has Blizzard's workplace changed since the revelations about rampant harassment last year? How did Chacko Sonny, Jeff Kaplan and Micheal Chu's departures impact Overwatch 2's design? How will Microsoft's impending Activision Blizzard acquisition impact future support for Overwatch 2 and the studio as a whole? These are all significant questions looming over Overwatch 2 that Activision Blizzard would probably prefer not to address outside of highly controlled PR statements.
Now, most players will just be paying attention to the gameplay and excitement behind potentially getting a Twitch Drop with a code. Blizzard can generate hype through streamers who will signal-boost Overwatch 2 gameplay, likely without addressing or critiquing Blizzard's company culture and the game's troubled development. This approach, unfortunately, worked well for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and it now looks like Blizzard is seeing how well it works with Overwatch 2.
After years of waiting, it is exciting that some players will finally get their hands on Overwatch 2's PvP beta and hopefully help mold the game with their feedback. Still, these Twitch Drops make it abundantly clear that Blizzard needs to think outside the box to promote Overwatch 2 and attract new players after several controversies.

Gaming

Riot Games’ titles can now be launched via the Epic Games Store

Jinx from League of Legends entering Fortnite.

Players will be able to play Riot Games titles like League of Legends and Valorant through the Epic Games Store. In addition to that, Riot and Epic are collaborating to bring Jinx from the upcoming League of Legends animated series to Fortnite.

League of Legends, Valorant, Teamfight Tactics, and Legends of Runeterra are now available to download on the Epic Games Store. When a player downloads these games on the Epic Games Store, they will also download the Riot Games launcher so they can directly access these games.

Gaming

Riot Games to hold its first mobile esports tournament for Wild Rift

League of Legends characters inside the Wild Rift.

Riot Games announced its first international tournament, for League of Legends: Wild Rift, in Singapore this year. The Wild Rift Horizon Cup will cap off the 2021 preseason and will begin on November 13, with the finals on November 21. This is Riot Games' first mobile gaming esports tournament.

Eight regions from around the world are already competing in their regional tournaments to qualify for the Wild Rift Horizon Cup. The top 10 teams from the regional qualifiers will head to the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Center to compete for the international title. The prize pool and the format of the tournament are yet to be announced.