Riot Games has released a video explaining what's next for their arena shooter Valorant. In the video, executive producer Anna Donlon discusses what's coming soon to the game as well as how Riot will be releasing updates for it going forward.
Executive Producer @RiotSuperCakes checking in from home on the launch of VALORANT and our future plans. Watch to learn more about what’s up next for VALORANT. pic.twitter.com/xPZ13gOQMS
— VALORANT (@PlayVALORANT) June 29, 2020
Episodes and Acts in Valorant
Donlon says that Riot Games is targeting about 6 Agents (Valorant's term for heroes) a year. Content releases for Valorant will be split into Episodes, which will then be split into Acts. Riot is looking to launch 2 Episodes per year, each of which will contain 3 Acts. Agents will release at the beginning of Acts, although Donlon says that Riot wants a little flexibility on timing to work around holidays and other events. The next Act in Episode 1 following this cadence would then be coming this August, with Act 3 poised for October. Episode 2 of Valorant would be targetting launch this December according to this and will bring with it major content updates. Donlon also says that Riot will look to the community for flexibility around Agents, and if 6 proves to be too many or too few, the studio will take that into account going forward.
Episodes will also see Riot releasing more details about the narrative of Valorant, although we're not entirely sure what form that will take just yet. In the video, Donlon says that Battle Passes for Valorant will release at the same time as Acts, with new skins launching for the game every couple of weeks. New major features will likely launch at the beginning of an Episode because Riot wants the beginning of each Episode to feel like a major overhaul for the game. This means map releases will be tied to the start of Episodes.
Riot is accelerating development on game modes, but Donlon says that the team isn't quite sure when they'll be releasing new game modes. This could happen at the beginning of Episodes or at the beginning of Acts, but this hasn't been finalized. However, Donlon says that we're likely to get a new game mode before the beginning of Episode 2, which is coming this December.
QOL improvements in Valorant
Over the next couple of months, Donlon says you can expect some more quality-of-life improvements to Valorant. These include early surrender, the ability to remake games, and protection for live streamers. The Valorant team has also made some improvements to the user experience of the game, and alongside that you can expect bug fixes and other improvements on a regular basis.
Riot also says it wants the community to use its reporting tools to help it crackdown on disruptive player behavior in Valorant. Donlon says that there is a team of human beings actively banning and restricting players in Valorant if they're reported, and that she thinks the team "has a pretty good handle" on the cheaters. Donlon also says that there are more features in the works to help players with disruptive behavior and that you'll be able to see those features "in the coming months".
Valorant is available to play for free right now on PC. We don't yet know whether it'll be coming to consoles as well, so watch this space for more news about Riot Games' hero shooter.
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