Valorant is Finally Coming to PS5 and Xbox

Valorant

By Viraaj Bhatnagar

Published Jun 7, 2024

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Valorant

Highlights

Valorant, the popular hero shooter, is finally coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S with a limited beta starting June 14.
Riot Games promises core gameplay parity with PC version, but crossplay will be permanently turned off for console players.
Console players can sign up for the beta in select regions and expect mobile port updates in the future from Riot Games.

Riot Games has announced that its mega-popular free-to-play shooter Valorant will finally land on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S this year, and interested console players can try out the game very soon. Rumors of Valorant coming to console platforms have been circulating for years, and Riot finally made it official during the Summer Game Fest ceremony.

Released in 2020, Valorant has quickly ascended the ranks among enthusiasts of competitive first-person hero shooters. The game's free-to-play accessibility, massive roster of characters, and somewhat interesting lore has helped it cultivate a sizable fanbase, albeit exclusively on PC. However, that will change soon, as the long-rumored console ports of Valorant have been revealed.

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Taking to the Summer Game Fest stage, Valorant executive producer Andy Ho and production director Arnar Gylfason announced that the game will officially release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S later this year, with a limited beta slated to land on the consoles starting June 14 at 1PM PT. Interested players can sign up for the beta on the official Valorant website, although it will only be available in select regions for now, namely the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Europe, and Japan. Riot has stated that it will "possibly" be rolling out the beta to remaining regions shortly after, but didn't provide a timeline.

Valorant's Gameplay on Console Has Apparently Been Harmonized with PC

As far as console optimization goes, Riot claims that the core Valorant experience will maintain parity with the PC version in terms of content and balance updates, but crossplay will be permanently turned off, possibly due to the precision disparity between controllers and keyboard/mouse. Cross-progression will be supported for players who intend to carry their PC profile over to consoles or vice versa. A mobile port for Valorant has reportedly been in the works alongside the console versions as well, but Riot has yet to offer any updates on it.

As one of the most popular PC-exclusive shooters, it'll be interesting to see how console players take to Valorant. Competitive hero shooters and PvP games like Overwatch have existed on consoles for years, but Valorant's control scheme and gunplay are heavily geared towards PC. In fact, Riot even acknowledged this, stating that it was "adamant" on making Valorant's gameplay feel "natural" on controllers, and that it would've walked away if that balance couldn't have been achieved. The player base is also an intriguing part of the equation, as a recent Valorant updates aim to weed out toxic players from the game. In hindsight, toggling crossplay off for console players is probably for the best.