Dev News

See how we brought Miks to life through sounds, sensations, and just plain old good vibes.

A VALORANT artist’s process designing a hypothetical skin for the lightning-wielding god of thunder.

The stage is set for a new year of VALORANT.

Detailed information and Frequently Asked Questions for the VALORANT Replay system.

Hear how the dev team approached designing VALORANT’s newest map, Corrode.

Learn more about how the team is approaching core topics like ability overload, smurfing, and more.

Anna Donlon reflects on VALORANT’s journey to 5 years and invites you to join us for many more.

Ban hammer goes brrr after Riot-wide holiday break.

Find out more about the upcoming changes across Agents, Balance, Ranked, Replays, and more.

A warm welcome to VALORANT’s 5th year from Studio Head, Anna Donlon.

Our final Dev Update before we roll into 2025.

Every rose has its thorns. But only some are deadly.

Maps Producer Albert Robles looks at Abyss and map pools as well as the rest of 2024 for maps.

Join us on our journey of taking VALORANT from the keyboard to the sticks in our newest Dev Diary.

It’s been a while. Let’s chat.

Coleman Palm and John Goscicki touch on balance and the first new Agent of 2024.

The latest look on our efforts to keep cheaters out of your games.

Clutch, calculated.

Character Producer John Goscicki gives a brief look at 2023’s Agents and a preview of the next Agent.

Servers up, game on.

Game Director Andy Ho and Global Head of VALORANT Esports Leo Faria go over some exciting Premier updates.

The latest on Team Deathmatch, updates to the progression system, and a lethal new Sentinel—let’s catch up on what’s next for VALORANT in 2023.

Find the right rifle for your playstyle.

We are updating our participation-related penalties in Patch 6.07.

Developing a new kind of Initiator and his found family.

Read how our dev team turned misfortune into the best-performing servers since launch.

Technology of the Future Found in the Ancient Past.

Here’s a message from the devs of just some of what’s in store for VALORANT in 2023.

The latest on our work to combat smurfs, some results, and next steps.

Don’t speak its name.

Thanks for 2022 from the entire VALORANT dev team. Read for leaks.

Read how the Piedra del Sol skinline from Episode 5 Act II’s Battlepass brings Aztec Gods to a new age of gaming.

Making fire cool.

Explore how the VALORANT maps and narrative team shaped the language of our newest map, Pearl, and introduced the world to Omega Earth.

A brief review at today’s Agent meta, and a thorough look at the major lenses we use to decide balance changes.

The Premium Content team discuss their journey resurrecting a fan favorite, Reaver.

From competitive swimming to leaderboard staple, this is zt0l.

Dropping by to help you understand how we’re tuning map diversity in the Competitive queue.

Map pick/ban, gifting, reporter feedback and…VALORANT on Netflix?

Character Producer John Goscicki has the latest update for the new Agent.

This is the story of how VALORANT’s performance team boosted your client performance.

With 2 years of Controllers, Duelists, Sentinels and Initiators, it’s a good time to see how we do it today.

Members of the Social and Player Dynamics team update you on ongoing future work on voice and chat toxicity.

Part 2 in our special series about our work to get Yoru in the right place.

Anna looks back on the year so we can look ahead for VALORANT Act II.

Giving a whole new meaning to run and gun.

To fans and players of VALORANT worldwide…

Join Character Producer John Goscicki.

Members of the Social and Player Dynamics team drop the latest on AFK data and work.

We lay out our plans for months-long communications around game systems health.

This special series is to show you exactly what we are working to get our dimensional Duelist in the right place.

You’ve played the newest map, now see how it was made with a breakdown from the VALORANT Map team.

Join Character Producer John Goscicki as he goes over 3.06 Agent changes, balance outlook and our next Agent.

Zedd is the Grammy award winner that co-created Spectrum, and is better than most of us at VALORANT.

Rank distribution, Account Levels, and skins are covered in this Ask VALORANT.

We share how the Sentinels of Light came to VALORANT via the Ruination and Sentinels weapon skins.

Cynprel is the VALORANT community’s lore enthusiast, archivist, and theorist. Read how they keep you informed.

Join our devs for a talk on the art and design behind Breeze.

VALORANT Creative Director bridges the gap between DUELISTS and DUALITY.

Our devs stop by to address performance, that 5-stack question, and crustaceans on Breeze.

Our Character Producer goes into planned 3.0 Agent changes and who’s coming in Episode 3.

Today we tackle smurfs and give a small update on a potential replay system.

The Global Esports team shares details on recent community topics within VALORANT Esports

How do we approach odd ability use? Did HRTF lower my volume? And more on today’s Ask VALORANT.

Anna Donlon says hello and welcome to our Vietnam players. We’ve also got a special in-game title for all.

Character Producer John Goscicki drops knowledge on the recent Viper changes and our balance outlook in 2021.

This one goes out to all of you who feel like the system is holding you down. How does Rank Rating and MMR work in VALORANT?

Take a look at how our principal illustrator built Astra’s art from sketch to cosmic Controller.

This week, we address the Rank Rating penalty for queue dodge, and look at the knife hit detection.

Our Social and Player Dynamics team lays out the next steps to combat bad behavior in our game.

Character Producer John Goscicki drops the latest look of where our Agents are today and where they are headed.

The state of match remake, Agent keybinds and some thoughts on Spike Rush.

Two big league questions on running/shooting accuracy and rank rating answered here.

Our anti-cheat analyst gives you the latest on what we’re doing to stop cheaters in the new year.

Plans for rank system changes, another surrender vote, and story mode, all discussed here.

Game Lead Anna Donlon wraps the year and Senior Producer Arnar Gylfason tells you what we’re doing so that each patch is smoother than the last.

A thanks from members of the Audio discipline on VALORANT.

Thank you from the esports team for a groundbreak year!

A thanks from the team that thinks about the lore and the creative cohesion of all your experiences.

Character Producer John Goscicki drops the latest look of where our Agents are today and where they are headed.

A thanks from the team that builds Agents, or “Characters” if you believe them.

A thanks from the team that makes Spike Rush and Deathmatch happen (and Snowball Fight!).

A thanks from the teams who make you feel welcome while you sweat.

A thanks from the team that makes maps and hides easter eggs.

A thanks from the team that worries about the game so you don’t have to.

A thanks from the team who helps other teams by telling them how it is.

Join our insights team on a data deep dive to show how we balance using Sage as a case study.

A thanks from the team who is so damn good at making this game look so damn good.

Thanks from the folks who brought you the Battlepass, Missions, UI, and the Store.

A thanks from the team responsible for all the cosmetics you see in the game.

AFKers, blocking others, and smurfs. All this and more on the next Ask VALORANT.

Game Director Joe Ziegler talks about what it means for the future of VALORANT maps and how to get more of them to you sooner.

We talk more ways to display your play time, tournament-specific patches, and transferring account regions.

Our 3D Environment Artist breaks open how VALORANT maps are built from the inside out.

We let you in on the future of patch stability, how we take esports tournaments into account, and what we’re doing about some of those awful things in the chat.

We cover weekly challenges, how we slow down smurfs, and a possible test server.

Three Battlepass, more than 100 unique VALORANT items. This is how we do it.

Today you asked about in-game pauses, sharing crosshair settings, and practice while queueing.

Here you’ll find our response to some long-term questions on a left hand view, updating skins, and game consistency.

When the powers of VALORANT artists and engineers combine you get cool skin effects like Spline, Avalanche, and Nebula.

What’s that star mean? Do only kills matter? HRTF? It’s Ask VALORANT time.

Just because AI will take over one day, doesn’t mean player reports don’t matter. Paul Chamberlain is here to share why.

Is the Operator OP? What’s going on with footsteps? Why timed rollouts vs all at once?

VALORANT’S Lead Character Designer Ryan “Morello” Scott talks about the “extreme intentionality” that underpins Agent design.

Our pair of weapons and concept artists share what it's like to design a skinline that could probably win a Nebula Award.

Agent design, abilities, and anti-cheat are in this week’s answer bag.

Our software engineer outlines how the team is improving hit reg clarity and correctness.

Skin level toggle, VALORANT lore, hit reg, and custom keybinds or on this week’s docket.

Learn Killjoy’s abilities in this Agent overview from the wunderkind herself.

Act II introduces Act Ranks and a better way to share your competitive skill.

VALORANT level designers roam through the history of Ascent.

This week, Ask VALORANT covers a gifting system, in-game replays, and how many Radiant players there really are.

Members of the Premium Content team share how they breathed life into their most ambitious weapon skin yet.

This week, Ask VALORANT examines pick & ban, aim punch, and deathmatch mode.

Executive Producer Anna Donlon talks about upcoming plans for VALORANT

David Cole, progression systems designer, walks through the careful VALORANT balance process.

Brighteyz updates you on what Ranked and Competitive mode will look like for launch.

This week in Ask VALORANT looks at Radianite Points, matchmaking balance, new guns, and surrender.

VALORANT level designers show you how the Split map was created, from early to final concept.

Let’s be straight about where we are, where we need to be, and if we can get there by launch.

Members of the Premium Content team discuss how weapon skin fantasies are brought to life in VALORANT.

Art Lead Sean Marino talks about VALORANT weapons, their principles and how they came to be.

Everyone’s favorite anti-cheat lead, Paul Chamberlain, lays out the what, why, and how of VALORANT anti-cheat.

The title says it all, really.

Learn about the Store, Contracts, and the VALORANT battle pass.

Master the ranks and learn about VALORANT’s competitive integrity.

VALORANT’s game designers run you through their philosophy on how to execute rewarding tac-shooter gameplay.

Magus shares his thoughts on building a thriving esports and competitive community around VALORANT.

VALORANT’s technical director, Dave Heironymus, and technical engineering lead, David Straily, know the pain of bad servers getting in the way of landing clean shots. Here’s what we’re doing to keep VALORANT’s netcode and server infrastructure sharp so that you’re in control of each engagement.

VALORANT Executive Producer Anna Donlon discusses the global impact of COVID-19 on our dev team and partners.

Join Executive Producer Anna Donlon and Game Director Joe Ziegler as they welcome you to the VALORANT team on the road to Closed Beta and Worldwide Launch and flame jackets.