Valorant Arrives on Consoles with Limited Beta Test
Get ready for Valorant’s expansion to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles, with a limited beta test scheduled to launch as early as next week. The long-awaited console ports were announced by Riot Games during Summer Game Fest 2024. While Valorant on consoles will boast cross-progression, crossplay will not be available to ensure competitive integrity.
The absence of crossplay may disappoint players hoping to team up with their PC-using friends, but Riot Games maintains that this decision was made to uphold Valorant’s competitive standards. Balancing gameplay between controller and keyboard and mouse inputs would be challenging, and Riot Games has gone beyond simply adapting controls for the new platforms.
Valorant Production Director Arnar Gylfason explains that the team’s goal was to deliver the Valorant experience on a new platform, not just translate the input method. Extensive iterations, player feedback, and analysis of other games’ solutions culminated in the development of new features like ‘Focus’ to enhance hip-fire precision on controllers.
Cross-Progression and Shared Inventory
Despite the lack of crossplay, Valorant on consoles will feature cross-progression and a shared player inventory with the PC version. Additionally, all future updates and patches will occur simultaneously across all platforms.
Interested players can now sign up for the console beta test on Valorant’s official website. The first limited beta tests will commence on June 14 in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Europe, and Japan. Beta testing in additional regions and a wide release on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S are planned to follow.
