VCT 2026 capsules lean into uniformity... at the expense of team identity

Riot Games has confirmed the return of VALORANT VCT Team Capsules for the 2026 season, available from 13 January at 11:00 PST, priced at 2,320 VP, or 1,650 VP for players who already own the same team’s 2024 or 2025 capsule. On paper, the offer is expanded: an updated Classic with new VFX, an inspect “achievement tracker” tied to team performance, an animated player card, a spray, and a gun buddy.

Yet behind these additions, one issue stands out: the 2026 art direction noticeably smooths out organizational personality, delivering bundles that read less like distinct team identities and more like a global theme expressed through colour variants.

In 2026, the Classic skins follow an almost identical graphic structure from one team to the next: the same lines, the same cadence, the same overarching pattern, with colourways and logo integration doing most of the differentiating. The effect is even more pronounced on the player cards, which appear to be built from a common template, with a similar composition and atmosphere, then adapted through hues and emblems. Riot has, in fact, leaned into a “fandom” premise in which fans “choose their colours” and the goal is to signal pride on match day, an approach that, in practice, pulls teams closer to a standardised VCT aesthetic.

This direction contrasts with the capsules’ original intent. In 2024, Riot emphasised collaborative creation with teams, including player cards designed by the organizations themselves to reflect “personalities” and community references. In 2025, the programme was already shaped by a theme, but Riot framed it as an “alternate jersey” concept, paired with partner-specific branding elements meant to give each Classic a distinct feel. In 2026, despite the promise of a “new design direction,” the immediate impression is different: identity appears secondary to collection-wide cohesion.

Riot does introduce an additional layer of differentiation: teams with a title display a “Winner’s Flair”, and NRG’s capsule receives dedicated Champions elements. It is a symbolic bonus, but it also underlines a central point: strong personalisation is now tied to accolades, rather than to each club’s creative singularity.

On the economic front, Riot reiterates its stated goal of supporting the ecosystem, noting that it shared $100 million with VCT teams in 2025, driven by player support. For fans, however, a straightforward question remains: when you buy a capsule, are you still “wearing the jersey” of a team, or are you wearing a recoloured VCT aesthetic in the colours of your preferred organization?

The 2026 capsules do add VFX and premium finishing touches, yes. But by standardising the visual DNA, they risk diluting what often makes fan items resonate in the first place: the feeling of belonging to a singular club, not merely a palette.