Valorant gets surprise launch on PS5, Xbox Series X

Riot Games’ tactical competitive first-person shooter Valorant is now officially live on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, the developer announced Friday. Like the existing PC version of the game, Valorant is free to play on consoles. The console release of Valorant is currently available to players in the United States and Canada, Europe, Japan, and Brazil.

“We’ve received so much valuable feedback from players during Limited Beta, and feel confident to deliver on our gameplay promise for console players,” said Arnar Gylfason, production director of Valorant, in a news release.

The developer says that PC and console players will receive “simultaneous platform releases of all live patch balances, new agents, maps, premium content, and additional live service features.”

Riot launched the original version of Valorant in June 2020. It was the company’s second game, after releasing League of Legends in 2009.

Valorant takes inspiration from another tactical team-based shooter, Valve’s Counter-Strike, but adds unique Agents, each with their own special abilities and superpowers. In 5v5 matches, players pick from one of 24 Agents as they try to attack and defend against an enemy team in a variety of ranked and unranked modes.

Valorant launched with 11 Agents and four maps, and those numbers have more than doubled over the past four years, with new content coming over Episodes and Acts. Players get five unlocked Agents upon creating a Valorant account; the rest can be purchased by collecting an in-game currency, Kingdom Credits, that can be earned by playing games and completing tasks. Players can also unlock Agents with Valorant Points, a premium paid currency. On Xbox Series X and PC, Game Pass subscribers get access to all current Agents and day-one access to new ones as they’re released.

Valorant’s console versions have been playable in a limited beta since June 14 on both PS5 and Xbox Series X. While the console versions support crossplay between Sony and Microsoft’s platforms, players won’t have to worry about facing players on PC.