The Valorant closed beta has been a big success, with the game quickly becoming one of the most popular titles on streaming platforms. However, it's been famously difficult for many players to actually get into the Valorant beta, meaning most players have only been able to watch streams of the game instead of actually playing it. That will change sooner rather than later, as Riot Games has officially announced the Valorant release date, and it's only a couple of weeks away.
As part of the ongoing Summer Game Fest events, Riot Games revealed that the Valorant release date is June 2. On the day, anyone interested in the game will be able to check it out for free, as Valorant is completely free-to-play on PC. And those that have already played the Valorant beta extensively will also want to tune in on June 2, as launch will include a new map, a new playable Agent, and a new game mode.
Riot Games stopped short of providing specifics about the new content. However, it did clarify that Valorant's new mode will not be Team Deathmatch. It will instead be a "shorter mode" that is designed to be less stressful than the main game mode. And since Riot was unable to test this mode before launch, it will be released with a Beta tag to indicate that it may still need some work before it's up to snuff.
As far as the new map and Valorant agent, that remains to be seen. Riot did say that the release date trailer briefly teased the new map, so fans can scour it for clues about what they can expect once the game goes live on June 2.
Additionally, Riot Games also confirmed that the next big Valorant content update will take place at some point this summer. It's unclear when it will happen this summer, but fans of the game should be able to look forward to some fresh experiences in the months ahead.
In the meantime, it will be interesting to see how Valorant continues to evolve after launch. Riot Games is sure to support it for the long-term, and that will include new content, perhaps ports to other platforms, and of course, new ways to deal with toxic Valorant players, which has been one of the game's biggest issues during the beta.
Valorant launches on June 2 for PC.