Valorant releases first ever holiday skins ahead of winter event

Valorant has released a new set of holiday-themed skins ahead of the recently announced Snowball Fight Team Deathmatch, which runs from December 15 to December 29.

The Winterwunderland skins are 1,275 VP for the Vandal, Phantom, Ghost, and Marshal, and 2,550 VP for the melee skins. A bundle costs 5,100 VP and includes all three of the Valorant melee variant levels, which are red, green, blue, and rainbow.

When will Valorant holiday skins be available? 

Skins are available for purchase on December 9, a few days ahead of the new Snowball Fight Team Deathmatch. The deathmatch was announced with the Valorant 1.14 patch notes and goes live on December 15. The event will last two weeks until December 29. 

At first glance, the guns look like they are covered in ice. But upon closer inspection, each gun has a winter scene displayed along the gun’s handle and barrel that moves like a reflection. One of the coolest features of these skins is that when the player stands in a dark-lit area of the map, the holiday scene turns into a night scene.

The melee weapons are candy canes in different colors. There come in green and white, blue and white, red and white, and rainbow-colored candy canes.

“Initially, we weren’t sure if the Winterwunderland set would have a melee. [Art Lead Sean Marino] and I were discussing our options then all of a sudden he asked me, ‘What if we did a melee and it was a candy cane?’ It just kind of escalated from there.” producer Preeti Khanolkar said. 

Inspiration for the skins was taken by a trip that Marino took to Europe in December 2018. The winter wonderland scene is modeled after holiday markets held in small towns in Europe. The devs were looking to create skins that reminds players of looking into a snowglobe of a small winter town. 

In addition to the Winterwunderland skins, the Valorant developers have released some sneak peeks behind some upcoming skins, sprays, and more on their website.