Riot Games has revealed a new cinematic, ‘Why We Fight,’ to mark the fifth anniversary of Valorant.
The cinematic to celebrate the anniversary features Qing Madi’s latest single, ‘Ego’.
It draws inspiration from First Light – the event that shaped the creation of Alpha Earth and laid the foundation for the Valorant universe.
The cinematic introduces a significant new character in Mary Ade who is Phoenix’s sister. Mary is the game’s first non-playable character, and she plays a crucial role in Phoenix’s story.
“To celebrate our anniversary, we envisioned a special musical moment capturing the journey of our players and agents. This led us to create Mary, Phoenix’s sister and Valorant’s first non-playable character,” said David Nottingham, creative director for Valorant.
Nigerian singer Qing Madi, is known for her critically acclaimed projects like ‘Qing Madi’ and ‘I Am the Blueprint,’ which have achieved over half a billion streams worldwide.
“Qing Madi’s raw demo of ‘EGO’ instantly resonated with the emotional depth we aimed to capture,” said Jonny Altepeter, Riot Games’ Lead Music Supervisor. “Her music became the heart of this cinematic, enriching the storytelling for VALORANT’s universe.”
Riot Games has previously collaborated with musicians. The publisher has previously teamed up with artists such as Zedd, Mark Tuan, MILLI, and more to create exclusive skins, Champion Anthems, and event-themed songs.
Valorant events to celebrate five-year anniversary
There are a number of events to celebrate the five-year anniversary of Valorant, on top of the cinematic, ‘Why We Fight’.
Valorant parties will be held across the UK in London, Durham, Manchester and Warwick.
Riot Games also announced several in-game changes, recently showcasing the replay system for the first time.
The Unreal Engine 5 upgrade is also set to go live around the end of July. There will also be changes to Valorant’s esports scene in 2027 to close the gap between Tier 1 and Tier 2 teams.
Meanwhile, former Fnatic coach Jacob ‘mini’ Harris and Team Liquid content creator Connor ‘Sliggy’ Blomfield hosted a ‘Semidecade Slugfest’ showmatch to celebrate Valorant’s fifth anniversary.
Team mini beat Team Sliggy 4-1 in the match which was streamed on Twitch on Monday night.
Kieran Lynch is an esports journalist who writes about several games including EA Sports FC 25, Call of Duty, Rainbox Six Siege, and more. He previously worked as a sports journalist for MailOnline.
