We tracked Douyin’s sales data and uncovered that Valorant’s Champions 2025 bundle has already generated over $35M in just five days, a huge signal of China’s growing market power.
Riot Games has generated over $35 million in VCT Champions bundles sales from Chinese social media platform Douyin in just five days.
Douyin (China’s version of TikTok), offers purchasing options similar to the TikTok Shop. However, the number of items sold is public, giving us a good temperature check of just how hot the Chinese VALORANT market is for skins and cosmetics.
Record-Breaking Sales on Douyin
The VCT Champions bundle costs 426 rmb ($60). At time of writing, 593,000 bundles have been purchased on Douyin alone, amounting to a whopping $35.6 million in sales. The VCT Champions Bundle was only released on Sept. 4.
In Chinese gaming netcafes, VALORANT was the 2nd most played game behind League of Legends in August. The next most popular games were Delta Force, Counter-Strike 2 and Player Unknown's Battlegrounds.
Millions in revenue for Partnered Teams
Riot Games shares 50% of net proceeds of the Champions Bundle to VCT teams. As a result, courtesy of just a single Chinese social media platform, roughly $18 million in revenue share will be distributed among all 44 partnered teams That number is likely to increase especially given China's formidable VALORANT scene.
For context, the VALORANT Champions bundle in 2023 generated over $40 million in total, distributing $20 million to the teams.
Overwhelmingly Positive Fan Reactions
The response to the bundle has also been overwhelmingly positive on the Chinese platform. 8,422 comments have been left, with 8,218 being positive, a 97.5% approval rating.
"The gun sounds feel amazing, and the butterfly knife animations are super smooth," said one Douyin user. "This is the best set I’ve ever bought. Definitely worthy of the 25th Championship theme, exceeded my expectations."
"Bought it for my boyfriend, hoping it makes him happy every day. I don’t really understand these things, but he likes them, so that’s enough. This kind of limited skin feels like a one-time sentimental purchase," said another Douyin user.
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The long road to China’s approval
China has always been the dream market for game publishers to succeed in. However, games must pass government approval processes. Developers must also find a Chinese partner to operate in China. Riot Games' partner for both VALORANT and League of Legends is Tencent.
From Delayed Launch to World Champions
Due to the approval process VALORANT officially released in China on July 12, 2023, three years after the original launch of Riot Games' tactical FPS. Riot Games wasted no time in activating the Chinese market.
To commemorate VALORANT being released in China, two Chinese teams were invited to Tokyo Masters 2023, Attacking Soul Esports and EDward Gaming. The event was the world's first introduction to EDG's Zheng "ZmjjKK" Yongkang, better known as Kangkang.
At the beginning of 2024, China was given its own VCT League, and within just six months China's EDWard Gaming were crowned world champions at VCT Champions 2024 in South Korea. The Chinese team has continued their form in 2025, placing 3rd at Masters Bangkok, and have amassed a formidable domestic following.
Looking Ahead to VCT Champions 2025
For the upcoming VCT Champions 2025, similar to last year, four teams will represent the China region; Bilibili Gaming, Dragon Ranger Gaming, EDWard Gaming and XLG Esports.
The global finals will begin on Sept. 12 and run until Oct. 5, meaning there is plenty of time for bundle sales. If early Douyin sales are any indication, VCT Champions 2025 could set a new record as Chinese fans rally behind their four homegrown teams.
