Riot Games have officially unveiled their first entry to the first-person shooter genre with Valorant, a 5v5, round-based, tactical shooter that is being compared to Overwatch, CS:GO and even TF2. But, when is the release date for Valorant? Here’s everything we know.
First only known as Project A, Riot kept their FPS under wraps for some time, before revealing it to the world on March 2.
It was met with excitement, anticipation, and skepticism in equal measure, as players from other shooters weighed up the pros and cons from the 2-minute gameplay reveal.
Valorant release date
Riot Games have confirmed that Valorant will launch on June 2, 2020.
In their March 2 press release, Riot confirms that Valorant will release in “most regions around the world” in Summer 2020.
Will there be a Valorant beta?
With the game only a few months away from launch, the time for a beta could be fast approaching, if Riot plans to release one at all. There has already been behind-closed-door play sessions for content creators and esports professionals, confirming there is a playable version of the game available.
Rod ‘Slasher’ Breslau previously reported that sources had claimed details of a beta would be released on March 2, but no beta was confirmed when the announcement came.
A report from Eurogamer claimed that the beta would be dropping in “the next few days”, but it’s not yet been confirmed by Riot.
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That doesn’t mean a beta is totally ruled out, however. It’s also possible that the initial release of the game in Summer 2020 will in fact be a beta version of the game, to get all the kinks ironed out before a full release.
Will Valorant be on PS4, Xbox or Mobile?
Currently, Valorant is set to be a PC exclusive, with not even a hint that it will come to console or mobile devices.
The game is designed from the ground up with PC play in mind, as Riot boasts of the highly precise aim and movement mechanics, only achievable with a mouse and keyboard. They say it will be “optimized to perform on a wide variety of PC hardware, allowing for a global audience to compete.”
However, Riot has shown a willingness to expand beyond PC with other titles, namely Legends of Runeterra, which has a mobile version. At launch, we expect Valorant to be PC only, but depending on its popularity, we could see versions for other devices in the future.
Is Valorant free to play?
Yes, Valorant is 100% free-to-play, just like League of Legends. Presumably. Riot will monetize the game through cosmetics, but no details on the exact cosmetic system, season or ‘battle pass’ structures have been announced yet.
Stay tuned to Dexerto and ValorantUpdates on Twitter, for more announcements and details of Valorant as soon as we have it. There’s still a lot we don’t know about this game, but it’s becoming one of the most anticipated titles of the year already, as the shooter genre prepares for another major player to enter the space.
