Valorant is transitioning to Unreal Engine 5, but don’t hold your breath for a right away graphical leap with the shift. As a substitute, this can be a “needed” change that could lead on to “latest playable experiences” throughout the Valorant universe, in accordance with Valorant studio head Anna Donlon at Riot.
Speaking at Unreal Fest Seattle 2024, Donlon got here on stage to discuss Valorant and the way integral Unreal Engine has been for the hero shooter. She mentioned that her team has “squeezed literally every ounce of the whole lot we could get out of UE4, so now we make the move to UE5.” Donlon knows this is hard with a live-service game, “but it surely is needed, of course.”
From there, Donlon dialed back player expectations for a serious visual overhaul with the move to Unreal Engine 5. But that did not stop the studio head from teasing an expansion of the Valorant universe.
“This upgrade will not be going to significantly change how Val looks or performs, not less than not straight away,” Donlon said. “But here’s what I can say: There are lots of developers back at Riot who’re incredibly grateful for what Unreal has allowed us to do for players. There are lots of developers back at Riot who’re very enthusiastic about what UE5 can do for us in the long run.
“Possibly, those devs are working on something I am unable to discuss. Possibly those devs are excited about ways to expand the Val universe into latest playable experiences.”
Moreover, Donlon credited Unreal Engine with the power to bring Valorant to consoles earlier this 12 months. That is seemingly been successful, too, with the hero shooter showing up as one among the most-played games on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
In August, Valorant introduced Vyse, a brand new agent that could make you utilize a worse gun. Most of her abilities revolve around stunning enemies. For more, take a look at GameSpot’s Valorant review.
