Game developer and esports company Riot Games has announced the broadening of its partnership with Statespace, the developer of aim training tool Aim Lab.
As a part of the expansion, Riot Games will become a minority shareholder in Statespace. Aim Lab will also become the official training platform for Riot’s FPS title VALORANT.
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Aim Lab, which Statespace is best known for, is a free-to-play training software that allows FPS players to practice in realistic in-games scenarios, such as aim training, ‘peeking’ corners and hitting moving targets.
Statespace has previously cooperated with Riot Games on activations tied to its VCT Challengers North America VALORANT circuit, and has also promoted Arcane, Riot’s TV show set in the League of Legends universe.
The partnership will see Aim Lab become the official training and coaching platform for VALORANT esports. Aim Lab will use “Riot’s Intellectual Property to integrate in-game physics, maps, and weapons” into the training software, the two companies announced.
Dr. Wayne Mackey, CEO of Statespace, said: “Riot has been the best partner, collaborator, and facilitator that we could have asked for. We are thrilled to continue to improve the player experience through training, coaching, and scouting in VALORANT and soon, in League of Legends.”
Mackey did share any details regarding this potential expansion into League of Legends, which has not previously been announced. Likewise, Riot Games did not disclose how big of a stake it now has in Statespace.
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Jake Perlman-Garr, Global Head of Corporate Development at Riot Games, said: “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.”
Esports Insider says: From the looks of it, Aim Lab will have dedicated VALORANT training modes that will look and feel like the real game, which could be huge for players. What’s more interesting, however, is that both Mackey and Perlman-Garr hinted at League of Legends as a next step for the software, which could see Aim Lab diversify from being strictly an FPS tool and provide MOBA players with a valuable place to practice.