Minnesota-based esports company launches all-female team VersionX

Minnesota is getting another professional esports team — but this time, it's made up entirely of women.

Driving the news: Eagan-based esports company Version1 announced late last week it's launching an all-female Valorant team, called VersionX.

• The five players will compete in the first-person shooter game that has more than 14 million monthly active PC players.

Why it matters: All-female teams are a rarity in the esports world, which has been dominated by men since its infancy — partially due to sexism and discrimination, Axios' Stephen Totilo and Megan Farokhmanesh report.

• 59% of women who play video games online mask their gender to avoid harassment, according to a 2021 study by Reach 3.

How it works: The team will play in tournaments through VCT Game Changers, a new program dedicated to creating competitive opportunities for women and other marginalized gamer communities within Valorant esports.

• The team will also compete in other mixed-gender tournaments, Version1 communications director Cassie Batinich told Audrey.
• Players are currently scattered across the country, but they'll move to Minnesota later this year and work out of Version1 headquarters.

Of note: Version1 also owns Minnesota ROKKR, a professional Call of Duty esports league that launched in 2019.

• The Wilf family, which owns VersionX's parent company, is also the owner of the Minnesota Vikings.

Thought bubble: Valorant is the current frontier for female-fronted esports teams, with VersionX joining teams from Cloud9 and TSM, Farokhmanesh writes.

• These dedicated teams give professional players the chance to learn from and compete with players without the worry of discrimination based on their gender.
• But the field still has a long way to go: a future in which mixed-gender tournaments are the norm, not a novelty.

What they're saying: "We're not where we want to be in professional women's teams, but this is the sort of thing that's taking us a step in the right direction," Batinich said.