VALORANT News: launch
Tue, Jun 2, 2020
The day is here! VALORANT is now live in most countries around the world!
Alongside the game’s debut, the VALORANT team released the official launch cinematic and gameplay trailer titled, “Episode 1: IGNITION” & “DUELISTS”.
The trailers feature the newest map, Ascent.
In the cinematic trailer, Phoenix talks to someone about obtaining a “package”. He then chases Jett across the map. Jett eventually escapes after getting ahead of Phoenix. Phoenix leaving the building where Jett was last seen is surprised to see a huge chunk of land floating in the sky with waterfalls flowing from each one.
Definitely gets us hyped up to play!
You can download VALORANT for free now at the official VALORANT website: playvalorant.com
Mon, Jun 1, 2020
VALORANT is launching on Tuesday, June 2nd and release times have been revealed for each region:
Korea, Japan, Asia-Pacific: 8AM KST
EU, Turkey, MENA, Russia & CIS: 7AM CEST
NA, LATAM & South America: 5AM PDT / 8AM EDT
The image accompanying the post on social media appears to be the opening frame from a short film / trailer. In addition to the text reading, “Episode 01: Ignition”. There’s also smaller text below the title that reads “Ascent // Italy” under the title.
This suggests that there are seasons in VALORANT, called “Episodes, and the first season is known as Ignition. Maybe we’ll get a bit more information about the Agent’s backstories in this opening trailer.
The image and text also suggest the new map could be based around an Italian theme. The trailer that accompanied the launch date reveal, showed Jett jumping over a canal with gondolas. That scene looked exactly like Venice, Italy. Maybe the new map will be based in Venice? Either way we can’t wait to play VALORANT during the official launch!
Read our overview of what’s to expect at launch »
Sat, May 30, 2020
After days of teases, Riot Games surprised fans by dropping the reveal trailer for the 11th Agent, Reyna.
While no info is given about her backstory, text accompanying the video states she originates from Mexico. It appears one of her abilities allows her to “take the heart” of opponents she kills to increase her HP. Interestingly this healing can cause her to become “Overhealed” as noted by a notification that appears during gameplay.
Alongside an ability that seems to function as a flash, Reyna also appears to have the ability to create something called a Combat Stim. Whether that bolsters the strength of her attack or provides defensive shielding can’t be determined from the gameplay released. A huge factor in Reyna’s gameplay, her Ultimate ability also remains unknown.
In FPS games, any character that has a healing / HP advantage will draw increased attention.
VALORANT Game Director Joe Ziegler noted, prior to the reveal, that the new agent would evoke strong feelings from players.
You’ll be able to play as Reyna and all of the other Agents on launch day, Tuesday, June 2nd.
What do you think of Reyna and what do you think her Ultimate will be? Let us know in the comments.
Learn more about the VALORANT launch date, with our overview »
Fri, May 29, 2020
Get a first look at the new Agent!
In a promo video posted by the VALORANT Brazil Twitter account, we get our first look at what the finalized new Agent looks like.
What a teaser! We can’t wait to play as her during the game’s launch on Tuesday, June 2nd!
What do you think her abilities and ultimate will be? Let us know your guesses in the comments.
Find out more about the game’s launch here»
Tue, May 26, 2020
The VALORANT team has confirmed that the Closed Beta ends at 9AM PDT on Thursday May 28 for all regions. To get in the last possible game, be sure to start it at or before 8:59AM PDT. At 10:30am PDT all servers will go offline until the game launches on Tuesday, June 2nd.
Riot provided additional info with an FAQ about what to expect over the next few days.
The game will launch in most regions of the world including Oceania, but it won’t be available in Vietnam, India, or the Middle East just yet.
Closed Beta drops have ended, though people who were eligible will have a special Twitch / VALORANT player card in their inventory at launch on June 2nd.
All progression will be reset, but anything earned in the Closed Beta player pass (including the exclusive gun buddy) are yours to keep.
Store purchases won’t carry over but your VALORANT points will with a 20% bonus. If you spent the points or not, they will be returned to you at launch.
Get the full details on what to expect at launch »
Thu, May 21, 2020
Game Director Joe Ziegler and Executive Producer Anna Donlon surprised fans with a video announcement. They revealed that the game would not be launching in a few months, but in a few weeks! Tuesday, June 2nd, to be exact.
While exactly how the global rollout will proceed has not been revealed, this is great news for fans not able to make it into the closed beta.
With server stability, anti-cheat, ranked, and other systems being fine-tuned, is Riot Games ready for launch?
The VALORANT team addressed all of these issues in a blog post.
On Vanguard, the anti-cheat system, the team mentioned that it’s still a work in progress. At launch a new auto-ban system will be deployed that can aggressively remove waves of cheaters as they are detected.
On addressing player behavior, an automated report system will help the team widely enforce a policy that discourages player harassment. 72-hour voice and chat restrictions will be doled out to those found in violation of the policy
On servers, the team is working with ISPs globally to improve routing to the best servers. In the short-term new gamer server deployment will happen in Warsaw, Madrid, London, Atlanta, and Dallas. The team is also looking to address latency issues in Colombia, Argentina, and Eastern Europe.
On regions at launch, the game will not yet be available in Vietnam. Players in India and the Middle East will be routed to SEA and European servers respectively until servers can be built out in those areas.
On the game itself, the team says they will continue to take note of bugs and balance issues to maintain competitive integrity. We can also expect new agents, new maps, new skins, and new ways to compete. Having an alternative game mode by launch or a few weeks after is on their to-do-list.
We’ll keep you updated on further announcements as the launch date draws closer.
Read the full blog post from the VALORANT team »
Fri, May 1, 2020
On Tuesday, May 5th most of LATAM, South Korea & Brazil join the Closed Beta!
Annyeonghaseyo, Korea!
Vamos, Latinoamérica!
Bora, Brasil!
In a Friday Developer Update video, VALORANT Executive Producer, Anna Donlon, revealed the next regions to join the Closed Beta.
While exact times for the roll out to new regions hasn’t been revealed, we’re sure fans are excited nonetheless!
Game Director, Joe Ziegler, also expressed the team’s excitement:
We'll keep you updated on the latest information on the new region roll out as details are revealed!
