Riot Games confirms a summer release date forValorant, its competitive first person shooter. Over the last week,screenshots ofValoranthave leaked online, and now Riot has officially revealed the game and several of its characters.
In a new trailer,Riot Gamesconfirmed thatValorantwould be available in summer 2020. On the game’s official site, Riot confirms that it will be holding a closed beta for the game but doesn’t say when this will be. Esports leaker Rod Breslau has revealed that Riot plans to hold an event with professional gamers and streamers between March 10-12 where it may film promos to promote the beta. This means that the beta may only be a few weeks away.
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There’s also potential that Riot will raise the barriers early like it did with its other new game,Legends of Runeterra. It had planned to hold a closed beta for the game in early 2020 but after so many fans showed excitement forLegends of Runeterra, Riot turned this into an open beta and gave everyone access months before fans had expected.
Riot will likely need this beta to show everyone thatValorantis more than just a strange mix ofCounter-Strike: Global Offensive’s map style withOverwatch’s hero abilities. These games are hugely popular and asCS:GOis now free to playand Blizzard may be releasingOverwatch 2this year, it could be difficult forValorantto break into the market. Giving people a chance to play it for themselves will allow fans to find out just how this game is different and if they should spend any time trying to get good at it.
The beta will also allow Riot to make some important changes to the game before release. Riot knows how tobuff and nerf characters inLeague of Legendsand it will now need to apply that with a new set of characters inValorant. With fewer players enjoyingValorantand telling Riot which skills need to be nerfed and buffed that becomes more difficult, but the beta should be a huge help.
It’s unclear how successfulValorantwill be and if the free to play game can make as manybillions asLeague of Legends. However, the response to the new trailer does seem to be positive and many seem to be hoping to see more about the game in the next few weeks and months.
Valorantwill be released in summer 2020 on PC.
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