Riot Games continues its post-launch content rollout for Valorant, expanding on an already well-received selection of maps, characters, cosmetics, and more. That said, Valorant players are always hungry for more, and the wait for a new map has players anxious for something new. That's why it's unsurprising that the Valorant community has been celebrating the announcement of the new Breeze map over the past several days, as hype builds toward its release on Tuesday, April 27.
The Breeze map is intended to be a juxtaposition to what Riot says is a "cold, angular world" presented in Valorant's Icebox map. Breeze presents a much more vibrant and open view of Valorant's setting. It's directly inspired by islands in the Caribbean, full of beaches, palm trees, and other fauna. It also presents a juxtaposition between aging ruins of a fort, replete with cannons, and futuristic additions hiding surprising technology.
As befits Valorant, the design of the Breeze map also tells a story. There's more going on within Breeze than first meets the eye. Whether it's the history of the ruins on the map, including mysterious street art, or what the modern technological additions are intended to hide within the stage, Riot wants players to ask questions about where the world of Valorant came from and where it's going next.
Gameplay obviously takes precedent over visual design and storytelling, of course. This is a Valorant map Riot wants players to enjoy for years to come, after all. The key idea presented so far is that Breeze is a much more open stage than others. It has many unique long sightlines, as well as methods of traversal to open up the map like what appears to be one-way ziplines and closeable doors. Some are speculating that Breeze could also allow defenders to use the cannons lining the fort's walls.
Valorant is tentatively on a six-month schedule for releasing new maps. It launched with four maps in Ascent, Bind, Haven, and Split. Its next map, Icebox, arrived in late October, 2020. Now Breeze is on schedule to arrive nearly six months to the day later, an impressive consistency for Valorant's team a year into post-launch.
Breeze will officially arrive in Valorant with the release of the online multiplayer shooter's Episode 2 Act 3. It'll come with a new battle pass for players to progress through, but surprisingly no new agent. Players can officially start playing when the update goes live in Valorant on April 27.
Valorant is available now on PC.