Valorant Will Launch June 2nd

After what feels like an eternity – although that could be attributed more to our current world situation than anything in the game – Riot Games' breakout hit Valorant is ready for the big stage. After weeks of running on a closed beta where only press, famous streamers, and their followers could get access, Riot Games has announced their Counter-Strike/Overwatch crossbreed will be available to the public on June 2.

Here’s where they made the announcement:



Between May 28 and the release date, which is just a few short days away, Riot will reset people’s accounts so everyone starts with the same swag, although obviously that won’t account for the gaps in experience that will inevitably exist. But they also plan to flesh out the game by adding a new mode, map, and agent, as well as new servers around the world.

However, it’s worth noting that the game’s anti-cheat system, which has been criticized for being invasive and overbearing, remains in the game. A fact that Riot Games addresses in a subsequent blog post:

“We know that wars aren’t won overnight—especially when we’ve taken a very public stance against cheaters who want to win at all costs. But it’s also why we have a proprietary anti-cheat detection platform and dedicated team of engineers who will improve things over time… we care about maintaining the integrity of your games, but understand that it’s about the journey and the destination.”

Regardless, so far people have been more than willing to let Riot Games eat their CPU for Valorant, so maybe the game-playing public in general will have a similarly relaxed attitude… at least, until Riot Games messes it up, as they’re generally wont to do. And of course, more people joining will mean more toxic jerks, so… bear that in mind too.

But hey, at least you’ll get to experience that whole mess yourselves real soon.