It’s no secret that Riot Games has been working on expanding its already massive player base even further. While it has already been dominating the MOBA scene with League of Legends for years, its latest title, Valorant, will aim to reel in those of the first-person shooter persuasion.
A free-to-play 5v5 competitive tactical FPS, Valorant (previously dubbed Project A) is Riot’s answer to fast-paced hero-based shooters such as Blizzard’s Overwatch and more measured tactical shooters such as Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six: Siege.
In fact, it’s more of a blend. Combining “precise shooting, lethal gunplay” and “unique character abilities”, this game will be more of a test of the player’s skill, rather than the over-reliance on game-changing abilities.
Where the character abilities in games such as Overwatch or Apex Legends are big and bombastic, the ones in Valorant seem more contained and small-scale, at least from the ones we’ve seen in the trailer. However, despite this, firefights can still end in mere seconds, as headshots will usually count as one-shot-kills. This is where the groundedness from the likes of CS:GO or Siege come in, making gameplay potentially very intense as a result.
While it is clear that Valorant is shaping up to be another esports title by Riot, no official news on tournament plans have been announced as of yet.
Aside from Valorant, Riot Games is also working on the Legends of Runeterra card game, which will release soon, as well as an unnamed fighting game.
Valorant will release in Summer 2020 for PC.
Marion has a serious RPG addiction. Sometimes it bleeds into real life; he forgets to sleep because he thinks he has a Witcher’s body clock. Forgive him in advance if he suddenly blurts out terms such as “Mind Flayer” and “Magic Missile”, because never once does he stop thinking about his next Dungeons & Dragons game.
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