After years of rumors and speculation, Valorant is finally coming to console. Riot Games announced that its free-to-play hero shooter will be releasing on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S during Summer Game Fest, with a limited beta set to begin next week.
According to a press release sent after the announcement, Valorant’s PS5 and Xbox versions will feature “custom-built gameplay” designed to meet the needs of its core, competitive gameplay. With that in mind, Valorant will not feature cross-play between PC and console. Instead, Valorant will offer a “connected, shared inventory” and cross-progression between accounts.
Riot also promises simultaneous platform releases for all live patch balances, new agents, maps, premium content, and other features.
“When exploring whether to bring Valorant to additional platforms, we knew we had to be able to offer the same uncompromising, competitive experience that we’ve provided to PC players for years: a precise, team-based, tactical shooter,” production director Arnar Gylfason said in the release.
“We were adamant that Valorant’s core, competitive gameplay must feel natural on a controller; and — if we couldn’t deliver on that gameplay promise — we had to be prepared to walk away from it. We hope we nailed it, but ultimately, our players will have the final say.”
Gylfason elaborated a bit more on how console players can expect from the PC version, ” In order to provide the same experience as PC, where hip-fire is the primary shooting mode and [aiming down sights] is a secondary, supporting mode, we experimented with multiple adaptations and gamepad sensitivities,” he said.
“Focus is a new shooting mode that behaves essentially like hip-fire, but with reduced sensitivity. This way, players can use hip-fire whenever they need speed in moving their camera/aim (peeking corners, dodging utility), but utilize focus mode whenever they need precision (getting those cool headshots). This also approximates the shooting mechanic to what console players are used to in shooters, all of this without losing the added value Valorant’s ADS provides.”
Valorant was first released back in 2020 and has been a consistently popular hero shooter ever since. We wrote in our original review, “Valorant is the most fun I’ve had with a multiplayer FPS since Valve’s Team Fortress 2. The flexibility of its magically-infused cast paired with a deep arsenal makes for a magnificent competitive canvas, if a tricky one to initially pick up.”
Amid its popularity, though, Valorant has struggled with player toxicity, which recently led to studio head Anna Donlon to say that Riot “absolutely needs to better” in protecting its players.
Valorant’s limited beta is set to kick off in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Europe and Japan on June 14, with a rollout set for additional regions soon after. You can sign up for the beta right here. In the meantime, this weekend’s events roll on, and you can check out all the rest of the announcements from Summer Game Fest right here.
Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
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