Valorant launches in full this June
Wait's nearly Sova.
Even though it's not yet fully available to the masses, Riot's tactical shooter Valorant has been making plenty of headlines since the closed beta launched in April. And soon you'll be able to see what all the fuss is about, as the game launches in full on 2nd June, free for all on PC.
The closed beta will wrap up on 28th May, and once the full game is live, players who participated in the beta will start afresh so that everyone's on a level playing field. Apart from them knowing how to play the game already, I suppose.
To celebrate the launch, players can also expect to find new game content, a new game mode, and a new map on launch day. Riot has also prioritised further game server deployments "on their short-term roadmap" for various cities around the world to lower latency (including London, Madrid and Warsaw).
Although it's already popular with players and viewers (particularly on Twitch), Valorant has received some criticism from fans for its approach to tackling cheating, with users raising concerns about the invasiveness of the anti-cheat software. Meanwhile, Valorant's own developers have highlighted issues with in-game toxicity, particularly towards women, with Riot officially promising to tackle the issue.
If you're out of the Valorant loop and want to know what to expect before diving in, make sure to check out Chris Tapsell's preview piece, and his interview with lead producer Anna Donlon and director Joe Ziegler.