Valorant’s vague release window of “Summer 2020” has finally been specified. Anna Donlon, Executive Producer of Valorant, revealed that the game will be released on June 2, which is just a couple of weeks away.
During an interview with Geoff Keighley, Riot also revealed that the game will only launch with one new agent, instead of the previously stated amount of two. Joe Ziegler, Game Director of Valorant, explained that the current situation with COVID-19 was the reason for the change. Ziegler also stated that the new agent launching with the game is “definitely going to be an interesting one and little spicy potentially.”
By "spicy" I mean we definitely expect some strong feelings about how the next agent plays. I'm looking forward to impressions as you all get eyes on it.
— Ziegler (@Ziegler_Dev) May 21, 2020
Valorant will also be launching with a new map and mode. Riot didn’t get too specific as far as details but they did say that the new mode was designed around “having a shorter mode that you can play in between the sort of more high stress, longer competitive matches.” Donlon went a little further and outright said that “it is not Team Deathmatch,” so there’s that.
In their most recent blog post, Riot stated that beta Drops on Twitch have officially ended. The closed beta will end on May 28 at 9 AM PT for all regions. All progress that players have earned in the closed beta phase will be reset except for unlocks earned in the Closed Beta player pass. Riot also reiterated that any store purchases made during the beta won’t be carrying over but Valorant points will, with a 20% bonus.
Valorant’s closed beta launched nearly two months ago and has been a huge success on multiple fronts, including Twitch, where it nearly broke the concurrent viewership record that was set by Riot’s other game, League of Legends. Riot has laid the groundwork for a successful launch, and it will be exciting to see how things go from here.
