There are no capital-G Gamers following Valorant.
Remember that video games are now the largest media industry in the world. Remember that gamergate happened almost 10 years ago now, and that Valorant is only 3 years old.
The kids playing and watching Valorant probably don’t even know enough about the controversy to make the connection. They just know an asshole when they see one.
Honestly I don’t even think capital-G Gamers play games anymore. It’s an aging demographic that is too bitter and stupid to keep up.
This boils down to “bad people are everywhere” which is universally true, to the point that it’s barely worth mentioning. You will find shitty takes and hateful people everywhere if you go out looking for it.
The question is whether the bad people are running the show, or if the bad is endemic to the culture. I don’t think you can say that of every fandom, or of gaming enthusiasts in general in 2023. And specifically I don’t think it’s fair to compare to the Valorant fanbase to something like the 2004 Smash Bros Melee fanbase.
There’s still progress to be made and bad eggs to be found in every basket, but I think there’s been enough mainstream attention and a hot enough crucible of scrutiny that we are for the most part beyond the era of “this tournament brought to you by actual rapists and chomos, don’t forget to bring your racist slurs, misogyny, and homophobic taunts to the stage for everyone to enjoy”
