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| Neon, The First Filipino VALORANT Agent (Image Source: The Fanboy SEO/Riot Games) |
Riot Games officially introduced Neon, a Filipino VALORANT agent, as its first Southeast Asian VALORANT agent to kick off the new year for the globally phenomenal multiplayer game. The swift duelist has already been established as a fan favorite among players and fans worldwide.
The official Neon trailer, which debuted on YouTube on January 6th, has already surpassed 6 million views. Riot Games has announced a series of collaborations and activities with Filipino artists and brands, including Ylona Garcia, TeamManila, and more, to commemorate VALORANT’s first-ever Filipino agent. Riot’s hyperlocal strategy for introducing Neon to the world involved an exciting collaboration with Filipino-Australian singer-songwriter, Ylona Garcia. Ylona’s original song, ‘Entertain Me’, was the background track in Neon’s agent trailer.
Riot has also kicked off a number of special community events to ring in Neon which includes the following:
• Creator Reaction Video – Many beloved Filipino creators wore their sleeves on their hearts when viewing Neon’s agent trailer for the first time.
• Official Cosplay With Charess – In partnership with Rumble Royale and cosplayer Charess, one of the most renowned cosplay influencers from the Philippines, Neon wasbrought to life with the support of a full roster of local Filipino artists and talent.
• Behind The Scenes Video With Vanille Velasquez – Hear from the voice of Neon herself! Vanille Velasquez, the voice actor behind Neon, sat down for an exclusive BTS video where she talked about what Neon means to her and the Filipino community.
• Neon Community Art – Riot commissioned some unique Neon artwork from four Filipino artists, Ikayawa, Bricx, Rodney and Jayds/Inkee. Produced along the theme of “Neon Takes on Manila”, these art pieces reflect each artist’s own interpretation of Neon expressed through their unique art styles.
Riot also collaborated with TeamManila, a leading Filipino urban streetwear company, to create the ‘Team Manila x VALORANT / Neon Collection’ swag kits. The exclusive Neon-inspired kit includes a basketball jersey, sweatshirt, bucket hat, designer water bottle, and wristband. The kits were distributed to key regional partners. Fans can also win these special items through press and influencer promotions. There will also be fan contests on VALORANT social media outlets where fans can win this gear kit. Contests will be announced on the VALORANT Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand Facebook pages.
“Neon is really a love letter to our amazing Filipino and wider Southeast Asian communities. We have been very touched by the outpouring of love and support from our players and fans for Neon over these past few weeks. We’ve always known our Filipino community to be one of the most passionate! So we’re delighted to be able to show them how important they are to us through Neon.” said Riot Games Philippines Country Manager Joel Guzman.
