Valorant: Release Date, Trailer, Beta, Characters & Everything else you need to know

Valorant is Riot Games' new competitive FPS, and it looks like a class-based shooter mixed with CS:GO's shooting style and objective-focused matches.

The game blends the character abilities of Overwatch with 5v5 gunplay that rewards quick reflexes and precision.

Riot says it's put a huge amount of work into ensuring lag won't get in the way.

Those bold technical promises are the way in which Riot intends to differentiate itself from its competition, including Rainbow Six Siege, Overwatch, and of course CS:GO.

However, none of this will mean anything if Valorant's mix of quick time-to-kill combat and character abilities doesn't feel distinctive enough.

Release Date

Riot hasn't officially confirmed a release date for Valorant, but they plan to release the tactical shooter at some point in the summer of 2020.

SCOPE: Judging from the 2-minute gameplay trailer, the weapons are kitted out with a multitude of intuitive scopes

The exact release date will depend on feedback received during Valorant's beta, as well as the impact of Coronavirus on Riot's dev team.

Trailer

Some Alpha footage of the gameplay has already been released, featuring an unscripted internal developer playtest.

The sheer number of abilities and unique weapons on show in this 2-minute clip will blow your mind.

Beta

The closed beta began on 7 April 2020 in the US, Canada, Europe, Russia, and Turkey.

ACCESS: For the best chance of getting access to the closed beta, follow the instructions below

Instead of participants being chosen at random, you'll have to get a random beta key by watching qualified Twitch streamers.

READ MORE: Everything there is to know about Rainbow Six Quarantine

Here's how you sign up:

•  Register for a Riot account here. 
•  Link your Riot account to a Twitch account by creating a Twitch account here.
•  When closed beta activates in your region, watch specific Valorant streams highlighted on Twitch for the opportunity to get Closed Beta access.

Characters

Who are the characters in Valorant?

SOVA: This character tracks, finds, and eliminates enemies with ruthless efficiency and precision. 

Well, as it's a 5v5 tactical shooter, Riot is aiming to have at least 10 characters ready for Valorant's launch.

READ MORE: What is Bethesda's upcoming title, Starfield?

Though we haven't seen or played with them, we have a brief overview of the nine we know about.

• Cypher - A defensive beast who can lay trip mines and stick a camera to a wall to watch for flanking opposition.
• Jett - Can leap into the air and throw knives for quick, surprise kills.
• Viper - Can unleash poison clouds that blind enemies or zone them into a deadly ambush.
• Sova - Fires magic arrows that penetrate walls and can travel clear across the map.
• Phoenix - Can curve flashbangs around corners.
• Brimstone - Calls in orbital bombardments that help friends and obliterate enemies.
• Sage - Valorant's resident medic can heal or revive allies.
• Omen - A shifty rogue who can get behind enemy lines or temporarily blind them.
• Breach - A seismic force that disorients enemies and ignores the boundaries of walls.

That's all we have for now, but we will be back with updates on the Agents, Maps, Consoles and more.