Riot Games has announced a new partnership between Valorant and Spanish luxury fashion brand Balenciaga.
The collaboration is part of Valorant Champions Shanghai 2026, the grand finale of this year’s esports season.
In-game agent Viper is the face of the activation and has become Balenciaga’s first-ever digital brand ambassador.
But rather than digital skins and cosmetics or a physical clothing line, Riot and Balenciaga are opening a temporary gaming cafe.
Balenciaga Valorant Cafe
The Valorant x Balenciaga concept gaming café will be open for a limited time only in the Chinese city of Shanghai.
The event space will be open from September 24 until October 18, the exact duration of Valorant Champions 2026.
And while there seemingly won’t be a clothing line or any merch, there will be one item that comes out of this partnership.
Balenciaga is launching its first-ever pair of gaming-specific eyewear in the Balenciaga NEO FOCUS, a pair of blue-light gaming glasses.
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Luxury Fashion and Esports
This isn’t the first time that luxury brands have entered the esports scene.
In fact, Valorant isn’t the first Riot Games title to do so, considering League of Legends’ partnership with Louis Vuitton for Worlds 2019.
The partnership featured a clothing collection that sold out in less than an hour, a trophy case for the Summoner’s Cup, and an in-game skin featuring Qiyana in real-life Louis Vuitton pieces.
Similarly, Gucci partnered with FACEIT in 2022 to set up an academy to look for up-and-coming CS talent.
That partnership also saw the creation of a small docuseries called GG Legends, which featured broadcasting host Jorien ‘Sheever’ van der Heijden and Team Vitality’s superstar Mathieu ‘Zywoo’ Herbaut.
And this isn’t Balenciaga’s first taste of gaming either. The fashion brand partnered with Fortnite in 2021 for physical merchandise and a virtual Balenciaga store featuring in-game outfits.
What do you make of this Riot Games and Balenciaga collaboration? Let us know on the Insider Gaming Discord.
Meanwhile, Riot has revealed this year’s Valorant Champions 2026 in-game bundle. And for even more Insider Gaming delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.
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