VALORANT's latest Battle Pass pays tribute to fan who died from cancer
Riot Games, the developer of popular first-person shooter VALORANT is known to pay tribute to fans from the community in the past, and they’ve recently done it again.
On 19 October, Riot Games released patch 5.08 for VALORANT, which includes the new Indian agent Harbor, the Episode 5: Act III Battle Pass, the return of the Ion skin package, and a competitive season reset.
The Battle Pass added a lot of rewards for players, whether or not they bought it. Among the awards is a memorial to Corbin, a VALORANT player and community member who lost his battle with cancer not long ago.
Shine on, Corbin. Featured as a free item in the EP5//Act3 Battlepass, the “Corbin’s Light” Gun Buddy was created to celebrate Corbin, a member of our VALORANT community.
Read about Corbin’s Light and his continued impact through his family’s Foundation:https://t.co/7jwVJLn8GE pic.twitter.com/STYgeSshcu— VALORANT (@PlayVALORANT) October 19, 2022
Corbin had been diagnosed several years ago, and had, through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, made known his hopes to design a skin for the game.
The devs shared the story behind the gun buddy's design in a recent blog post that focused on what’s new for the next VALORANT season.
It was inspired by Corbin and his elder brother’s design comments, and also includes the coordinates of a star that was named after Corbin by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Associate Integration Artist Catalina Faerman highlighted Corbin's Light among the several rare and special gun buddies available in this Battle Pass. This firearm companion represents a sapphire cut in the form of a star, framed in heavy gold.
According to a report by GameRevolution, Faerman said that the gun buddy has a “deep personal meaning".
"Corbin and I are kindred spirits in our love of astronomy,” she said, adding that her Star Guardian fan art for League of Legends led her to work for Riot, and designing Corbin’s Gun Buddy “almost felt meant-to-be".
Riot Games will also be donating to the C-Squad Foundation, a non-profit founded in Corbin’s honour before his death.
To add Corbin's Light to your collection, you must first gain 23,000 XP in Valorant's current free Battle pass. It is about similar to 30 tiers on the premium Battle pass.
On top of all these efforts, Riot games has revived the Give Back Bundle 2022. From 16-30 November, 50% of proceeds from weapon skins and 100% of proceeds from accessories in the Give Back//2022 Bundle will go towards the Riot Games Social Impact Fund in partnership with ImpactAssets.
This isn’t the first time that Riot Games honoured some of the players in the community. Back in April, the VALORANT developer recognised Lance “Finest” Arcilla, the Filipino VALORANT player behind the iconic “Jett revive me” meme who died earlier this year.
Riot Games immortalised Arcilla's words with a spray released back in Episode 2: Act 2. And further back in March, VALORANT also released the “Good Boy Bruno” gun buddy as a tribute to a beloved corgi that also died.
Anna is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a gamer who loves RPGs and platformers, and is a League of Legends geek. She's also a food enthusiast who loves a good cup of black coffee.
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