Riot Games pays tribute to young Valorant fan who died of cancer by giving away a unique gun buddy
Riot Games has paid its respects to a young Valorant fan who died of cancer earlier this year with a new gun charm called Corbin's Light that's available for free in the current battle pass.
Corbin was a teenage Valorant fan who submitted a request to work with Riot on a design for a Valorant gun skin through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Sadly, he died a few days after making his request, but his family shared his wish on social media, and it eventually caught the attention of Riot fans and developers. Valorant designers got in touch with Corbin's older brother, who shared Corbin's ideas with them.
Riot said the design of Corbin's Light is inspired by his love of stars and space, and includes the coordinates of a star that was named after him by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
"Corbin’s Light holds deep personal meaning," said Catalina Faerman, an associate integration artist at Riot Games who worked on Corbin's Light (via Instagram). "It was made for one of our players who sadly passed away during his battle with cancer. The Make-a-Wish Foundation named a star after Corbin, so we decided to honor him by creating a Gun Buddy inspired by his star, and additional design notes from his brother.
"I wanted to make something that he would’ve been proud of but also represented him. Thankfully I had help from our awesome concept artists to come up with the design. We chose blue for the crystal as it was Corbin’s favorite color, and I added the coordinates to the Make-a-Wish star as an engraving on the frame. I haven’t been on the Valorant team for long, so I’m honored and grateful beyond words to the team who entrusted me and supported me with this task. Most of all, I’m indebted to Corbin and our players for inspiring us and giving me the opportunity to make art for them. I’m incredibly proud of Corbin’s Light and I will carry this experience with me always."
Shine on, Corbin. Featured as a free item in the EP5//Act3 Battlepass, the “Corbin’s Light” Gun Buddy was created to celebrate Corbin, a member of our VALORANT community.Read about Corbin’s Light and his continued impact through his family’s Foundation:https://t.co/7jwVJLn8GE pic.twitter.com/STYgeSshcuOctober 19, 2022
Corbin's Light will be free to all players in Valorant's episode 5 act 3 battle pass. Riot Games is also making a donation through its Social Impact Fund to the C-Squad Foundation, a charitable organization founded by Corbin's family that aims to ease the financial burden faced by families seeking treatment at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.