Riot Games is surprise launching Valorant on Xbox Series S / X and PS5 consoles today. After a brief beta period in June, the console version of Valorant will be available in the US, Canada, Europe, Japan, and Brazil and features all the same gameplay, heroes, and abilities as the PC version.
Valorant launches on Xbox Series S / X and PS5
Riot Games’ free-to-play 5v5 tactical shooter has been adapted for consoles but won’t include crossplay with PC.
Riot Games’ free-to-play 5v5 tactical shooter has been adapted for consoles but won’t include crossplay with PC.
Image: Riot Games
is a senior correspondent and author of Notepad, who has been covering all things Microsoft, PC, and tech for over 20 years.
Valorant on console won’t have crossplay support because Riot Games wants to maintain “competitive integrity.” That means PC players won’t be getting controller support, either. The game will support cross-progression, so any skins and progression will carry over between PC and console. Both PC and console players will also receive simultaneous platform releases, including balance patches, new agents, map updates, premium content, and more.
Riot Games has also made some tweaks to the console version of its 5v5 tactical shooter, largely to make it more controller-friendly for hip-fire gameplay. “Focus is a new shooting mode that behaves essentially like hip-fire, but with reduced sensitivity,” explains Arnar Gylfason, production director of Valorant. “This way, players can use hip-fire whenever they need speed in moving their camera / aim, but utilize focus mode whenever they need precision. 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 aim down sights provides.”
Valorant is now available to play for free on PC, Xbox Series S / X, and PS5.
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