Riot Games has become a minority shareholder in Statespace, the developer of esports training platform Aim Lab, according to a press release. The decision marks the continuation of the partnership between Riot, the developers behind League of Legends and VALORANT, and Aim Lab.
In 2021, Aim Lab became an official partner of the VALORANT Champions Tour. Under the new agreement, that partnership will deepen as Aim Lab becomes VALORANT’s official training and coaching platform. Aim Lab will now be adding Riot’s intellectual properties, including in-game physics, maps and weapons, to their training. The goal is to give VALORANT players the most accurate training possible.
The press release also mentioned that while the initial focus is on developing further tools in Aim Lab for VALORANT, eventually MOBA elements more in line with League of Legends will follow.
“We look forward to collaborating with Statespace on developing innovative training and coaching tools for VALORANT and MOBA players around the world to improve their skills at every level,” Jake Perlman-Garr, global head of corporate development at Riot Games, said.
While Statespace’s Aim Lab has built a close connection to the VCT, even being installed on all the players’ PCs for use in warm-up, they’ve also partnered with other FPS esports like the Call of Duty League. It remains to be seen how these partnerships will continue in light of Statespace’s expanded relationship with Riot Games.
“Riot has been the best partner, collaborator and facilitator that we could have asked for,” Wayne Mackey, CEO of Statespace, said. “We are thrilled to continue to improve player experience through training, coaching and scouting in VALORANT and soon, in League of Legends.”
Statespace was founded by Wayne Mackey, a neuroscientist, in 2017. They developed Aim Lab, a training and coaching platform, that grew to have 25 million players worldwide. Aim Lab is the official training partner of Riot, VALORANT Champions Tour and Game Changers, Rainbow Six: Siege and Call of Duty Pro League.
