MANILA -- Filipino Valorant players were ecstatic when Riot Games announced Neon as its 13th agent.

With the creation of Neon and other characters with Asian origins such as Yoru of Japan, Shinji Komiyama, head of country operations of Riot Games - Asia Pacific, said they are looking forward to build "more resonating stories" as they plan to boost their market in the region.

"We are not ready to expose all the planning but we are... looking forward to building resonating [stories that] represent the concept of the region," Komiyama said, albeit refusing to elaborate on the company's plans.

• WATCH: Riot Games unveils Filipino VALORANT agent Neon

Filipino character Neon was released in January and is the first Southeast Asian-based Valorant agent. She is also the second agent of Asian ethnicity to be released after Japanese character Yoru in 2021.

"Definitely, Valorant is the game that actually represented global concepts. But at the end of the day, we are not ready to expose all the planning but certainly, we are looking forward to building more resonated stories and character that represented the concept of the country or culture behind it," Guzman said.

Earlier in the press conference, Justin Hulog, general manager of Riot Games SEA and Taiwan, said his office worked closely with the design team to create the duelist agent, adding that the project was "close to his heart."

"In addition to thinking through the design, and putting lots of easter eggs that are very specific to the Philippines inside the trailer, we also worked with a lot of local artists as well as local influencers to promote and share that," Hulog, a Filipino national, said.

Hulog was referring to some designs in Neon's trailer, such as a hanging Gilas jersey, and walis tambo, among others.

Riot Games also bared plans to open an office in the Philippines, as part of efforts to expand its services to the Asian market.