Expect Valorant's Updates To Be Substantial, Deliberate Additions

Now that Valorant has been fully released, the biggest challenge for Riot Games will be keeping people playing for years. The team-based shooter may be the talk of the industry right now, but new content in the form of heroes, maps, and modes will need to come out continuously in order to sustain the game's player base.

GameSpot sat down with Riot Games' Anna Donlon during the Play for All stream to talk about their plans for how they'll approach Valorant post-launch content. "We're not ready to commit to the exact cadence," she said. "The main reason why we don't want to commit to the exact cadence is we kind of need to see how the game balances itself out as players are playing it."

Valorant left its closed beta phase last week, launching on PC on June 2. The version 1.0 release including some new content like the new Spike Rush mode.

Donlon added that Riot wants players to be able to master the characters and maps that are in the game currently before they bring in new content. Although she did acknowledge that they would need to add new content at a "regular cadence," Donlon didn't mention a more specific timeline. Valorant, like Riot's other games, will receive regular balance patches and updates. New content, however, will come less often.

"I think what you can expect from us is that those drops will feel significant and when they happen they will feel very deliberate," she said. "It's not just gonna be like, randomly one day you wake up and a new agent's been introduced or a new map's been introduced."

Overwatch currently receives major content updates sporadically alongside regular balance patches. New content, like the new hero Echo or special cooperative modes, usually change the game significantly. Donlon's comments seem to point to Valorant's post-launch plan heading in a similar direction.

"Those moments should feel like moments in the game," Donlon said. "Where the game is changing in some significant or substantial way."

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