Valorant is transitioning to Unreal Engine 5, and Riot Games is hinting at exciting new content for the Valorant universe. Read on to learn more about what they revealed during Unreal Fest 2024.
Riot Games’ Valorant Upgrades to Unreal Engine 5
But Valorant’s Unreal Engine 5 Visual and Performance Improvements Won’t Happen Overnight
Valorant is about to get a serious engine upgrade, as Riot Games has officially announced during Unreal Fest Seattle 2024 back in the 1st of October that the popular tactical shooter will soon transition from Unreal Engine 4 to Unreal Engine 5 (UE5). The impact of this switch won’t happen overnight, but it sets the stage for Riot to push Valorant and its universe into new territories.
"We have squeezed literally every ounce of everything we could out of Unreal 4, so now we make the move to UE5," said Anna Donlon, head of Valorant Studios. This sentiment is understandable. Since its launch in 2020, Valorant has carved a competitive niche with its strategic gameplay and ridiculously stylish weapon skins. But even the slickest corridors of Haven can start to feel a bit off-season.
With the Unreal Engine 5’s enhanced capabilities, they now have more tools to expand both the visual and gameplay aspects of Valorant. "That is not an easy feat when your game is a live service game, but it’s necessary for sure," Donlon continued.
The switch to Unreal Engine 5 likely aims to future-proof Valorant—to ensure its visuals and gameplay remain cutting-edge for years to come. The aforementioned engine boasts features like Lumen, a lighting system that creates hyper-realistic environments, and Nanite, which allows for ridiculously detailed textures without sacrificing performance.
Temper your expectations, however. Donlon assures players that the initial impact on the game's visuals won’t be dramatic. The shift will be gradual to ensure the game remains stable as a live-service title during the transition.
Moreover, Donlon didn't reveal much about how this would improve the game beyond visual enhancements, but "here's what I can say: There are many developers back at Riot who are incredibly grateful for what Unreal has allowed us to do for players, and there are many developers back at Riot who are very excited about what UE5 can do for us in the future."
‘New Playable Experiences’ Are Coming to the Valorant Universe, Riot Said
Perhaps the most intriguing part of Riot’s announcement was the cryptic mention of "new playable experiences" in the Valorant universe. Donlon teased that UE5’s tools are allowing Riot to dream bigger and explore fresh ideas. While no specific details have been disclosed, the community is already speculating about what this could mean, especially given the job listings on the studio's official website hinting at an "Unpublished R&D Product."
With the shift to Unreal Engine 5, Riot can capitalize on Valorant's popularity by creating new and engaging content. They could branch out into different genres, similar to their success with League of Legends (e.g. Ruined King, Legends of Runeterra, 2XKO). Whether it's a story-driven adventure, unique game modes, or entirely new titles, the possibilities are limitless.
"Maybe we feel very fortunate to have everything UE5 can offer at our disposal, and maybe we feel super stoked that because we chose Unreal for Valorant, we can move our devs around and our tech around and our everything around really, really easily to explore those totally hypothetical new playable experiences," Donlon teased. "So maybe you’ll see me or someone else from my team up here in the future with a very different sort of presentation."
Sources:
Valorant Studios Head Anna Donlon at Unreal Fest Seattle 2024
Unreal Engine 5 | Lumen Global Illumination and Reflections
Unreal Engine 5 | Nanite Virtualized Geometry
Riot Games Official Job Listings
