Riot Games has announced that Valorant has now officially launched on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S after the initial beta has come to an end.
Valorant initially arrived on consoles a few weeks ago but in beta form, where you needed an invitation code to get access. Codes weren’t especially limited, but some players did struggle to get in, which will make this announcement especially welcome.
Now Valorant has fully launched on consoles, meaning you no longer require a code to get in and can simply download and play the game from your console’s store. However, Valorant is currently only available in the United States and Canada, Europe, Japan, and Brazil. Other regions may launch in the future, but there is currently no word on when that may happen.
“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 at Riot Games. “Whether it’s hitting that perfect shot, executing a flawless team play, or wiping out the enemy team, we look forward to seeing console players experience the same gameplay thrill as Valorant PC players.”
Based on the beta so far, the reception to Valorant on console has been great. Riot Games appears to have found a way to give players control over the precise aim that is required, but with a controller, and has kept the rest of the game that has proven so popular on PC the same. This was the main concern from players when the console version was announced, but somehow Riot has managed to pull it off impressively well.
“One of my favorite new features for consoles is Focus while shooting,” said Gylfason. “In order to provide the same experience as PC, where Hip-Fire is the primary shooting mode and ADS is a secondary, supporting mode, we experimented with multiple adaptations and gamepad sensitivities. But on console, shooting on hip-fire never felt the same and the player didn’t have the same range of possibilities and the same level of gameplay expression as on PC. And that’s when Focus comes in. Focus is a new shooting mode that behaves essentially like Hip-Fire, but with reduced sensitivity. This way, players can use Hip-Fire whenever they need speed in moving their camera/aim (peeking corners, dodging utility), but utilize focus mode whenever they need precision (getting those cool headshots). This also approximates the shooting mechanic to what console players are used to in shooters, all of this without losing the added value Valorant’s ADS provides.”