It's no secret in gaming that different regions throughout the world have a harder time getting certain games and playing them than others. Whether it's Brazil with its ridiculously high prices for Playstations or Australia and its strict censorship laws, gamers have always found a way around these limitations. However, for Valorant players in the MENA region, the workarounds can stop because today the very first Middle Eastern servers went live.
لا مكان للبينغ المرتÙع بعد الآن… خوادم الشرق الأوسط ستصل مع اللغة العربية ÙÙŠ 14 أكتوبر!#تØدّى_المستØيل pic.twitter.com/yr67OSsAkG
— VALORANT // Arabia (@VALORANTar) October 12, 2020
" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a video tweeted from the official Valorant Arabia Twitter account, Arabic servers located in Bahrain opened today, October 14, for those located in the Middle East and Northern Africa. The video also clarifies that along with the data center in Bahrain, they will be adding "some additional networking points of presence in the surrounding area."
The video is hosted by Anna "SuperCakes" Donlon, the Product Owner on the Personalization team at Riot Games. She also says that the company will be building an office in Dubai in addition to the Bahrain based servers, to establish a "stronger local community presence."
With these server and office additions, Riot Games has opened the floor for the MENA region to compete and participate in global eSports and the very first Valorant tournament, First Strike.
The video also promises all Valorant players a free MENA inspired in-game "gun buddy" cosmetic to welcome the new players to the community, which will appear in accounts by the end of October.
Because today is the first day for their live servers, it's unclear how many players have logged on, but it's safe to say that the team over at Riot Games has made things much more accessible for players all over the world.
For more on Valorant make sure to check out this article on the addition of the Glitchpop Skinline. For more on gaming in the Middle East, check out this article on the exclusion of the digital edition of the PS5 in Middle Eastern preorders.