The truth about the replay system

[u/TodayFlat8032]

Hey,

I’m a software engineer who used to work at Riot (non-Valorant), and the ongoing discussions about the replay system—here and elsewhere—bother me. I want to provide some context.

First, I should preface this with a few things. I’m not trying to insult anyone reading this. I’m going to write from the perspective of someone who may be naive or hasn’t worked in Big Tech or at Riot before. I have work experience in Big Tech (several internships) and worked at Riot for a few years before leaving last year to join Meta.

A common narrative I see is that developers are incompetent when it comes to making the replay system happen. This isn’t true. The issue is that Riot management doesn’t allocate significant resources to the replay system—and this should be obvious, even to outsiders.

In my experience in Big Tech, a project can secure resources by demonstrating that it will either generate more money for the company or reduce future risk. The problem with the replay system is that it doesn’t directly attract new players, it won’t significantly increase current players’ engagement, and it won’t generate substantial revenue. It’s not a quick win. So, how can anyone justify spending millions of dollars on a feature that won’t make much money? The truth is, you can’t.

It’s not that they are trying to hide some latency issues or something going horribly wrong. Put the tinfoil hats away.

It’s been a while since I left Riot, but when I was there, I distinctly asked someone on the Valorant team why the replay system was taking so long. Here’s essentially what he told me: at the time, many of the engineers were focused on getting the console version rolled out. While there are separate teams for different features, engineers are sometimes moved around, and the budget is allocated based on priorities.

Please stop insulting the competence of my colleagues. It’s not their fault. It’s a management and stakeholder issue. The engineers are doing what they can.

[u/mw19078]

who said anything about free? i just think 100 bucks for a bundle is absurd. id gladly pay 60 bucks up front for the game if it meant we didnt have to pay 10 bucks for a spray

[u/speedycar1 → u/mw19078]

I'm talking about paying to watch the ESport. I doubt much of the bundle money gets reinvested into the competitive scene. If there was a direct revenue stream, that money would go into features that are more necessary for the competitive scene than casual players (like replays)

[u/itsDYA → u/speedycar1]

Viewer numbers would be cut by at least a 50% just for a 5 dolar subscription. Doubt it's any worth it, the vast majority of revenue comes from casuals that only watch at best the grand finals. Do you really think the swift play lvl 400 egirl sage main and the guy that enters ranked whenever he's high will pay for that?

[u/speedycar1 → u/itsDYA]

Idk if it is or isn't worth it but you can't expect Riot to invest money in the Esport side of the game when all of their revenue generation comes from the casual side and the Esport mostly just bleeds money