Valorant, Riot Games’ popular tactical shooter which recently released on PS5 and Xbox Series X for the first time, is transitioning from Unreal Engine 4 to Unreal Engine 5. Anna Donlon, SVP and Head of Valorant Studios, announced it at Unteal Fest 2024 in Seattle (thanks, Insider Gaming).
Donlon said “we have squeezed literally every ounce of everything we could get out of UE 4, so now we make the move to UE 5”, but acknowledges that is not an easy feat for a live service game, “but it’s necessary”.
She admits this upgrade won’t significantly change how Valorant will look and performs, at least not right away, but teases “there are many developers back at Riot who are very excited about what UE5 can do in the future”.
She talks about “expanding the Valorant universe into new playable experiences”, but nothing concrete.
Details on when this change will go public and how that will affect PC requirements are unknown yet. Meanwhile, Valorant remains one of the most popular eSports titles.