Michael “shroud” Grzesiek is a big Valorant fan, but he isn’t afraid to speak his mind about where Riot Games’ first-person shooter could still improve.
shroud has become a top streamer on Twitch not only due to his incredible skills but also his honest opinions. The former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro recently discussed why Reyna is a must-pick in Valorant even after her recent nerf. Now, shroud is thinking of features Riot should add to Valorant if the company wants to keep him interested in the game.
Even though shroud has been focused on New World in his past few streams, shroud returned to Valorant on November 6 to play the game and discuss some interesting concepts. shroud told fans that he wished Valorant had custom maps created by fans but vetted by Riot Games.
“It’d be cool if there was a vetting process so not everybody could make whatever they want. Like, it’s vetted by Riot, and they choose what comes out,” shroud said.
shroud discusses fan-made Valorant maps and modes
shroud went on to say that he believes the most popular fan-created content would be PvE maps. He discussed how friends could work together to tackle puzzles and various objectives, showing that shroud really wants fans to have a chance to create unique and creative maps and modes. And shroud thinks the rest of the Valorant community would be on board.
“People would kill for that,” shroud said. “They’d love it. I’d love it.”
shroud added that he believes Riot will add this option one day. Custom maps and modes are a big part of the CSGO community and Overwatch fandom as well. While Riot developers have stated that custom maps are not currently the focus as the development team continues to focus on creating a bigger competitive map pool, it’s not off the table entirely.
“Building a scalable community-sharing platform and a set of map-making tools would take us years of development to get off the ground. When we weighed that against other content we could make with the team we already have, the choice was pretty clear to focus on content,” design director Joe Ziegler
said in 2020.
Riot Games hasn’t discussed the topic much since. But with one of the most popular Valorant players in the world bringing it up on stream, developers may feel the need to give fans an update on the possibility.
Will shroud join a Valorant team?
While shroud has been a pro CSGO player before, shroud seems happy playing Valorant as a full-time streamer without competing in tournaments. shroud attempted to compete in one organized tournament earlier in 2021, but his team didn’t do too well.
shroud has recently said that
playing with pros
makes him feel frustrated because he doesn’t practice enough to keep up with them. The content creator will most likely stick to streaming, at least for the foreseeable future.
Olivia Richman
About Olivia Richman
Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.
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