Valorant closed beta release date revealed, affected by COVID-19

Riot Games announced today that a closed testing period for Valorant will start April 7. 

The closed beta for the new character-based FPS title will be available in Canada, Europe, Russia, Turkey, and the United States. There’s a possibility the closed beta will become available to more regions in the future, depending on the current coronavirus pandemic. 

“Our plan was to bring the Valorant closed beta to as many players around the world as quickly as possible, but the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted those plans, compromising a wider global rollout. For now, we have to focus on the regions where we feel most ready, with more regions following in the months to come,” Valorant executive producer Anna Donlon stated. 

She went on to say that Riot’s goal is to “engage with players globally” as soon as possible, so player count will be “ramped up” to test their infrastructure. 

“We won’t be letting everyone playtest Valorant until we’re absolutely sure we can handle it in this newly uncertain environment,” Donlon said. 

How to get into Valorant’s closed beta

For the regions that have the opportunity to participate, there are a few steps to take to to have the chance to play in the closed beta. Riot Games is working with Twitch to give fans access to Valorant’s closed beta. 

The first step is to register for a Riot account here. You must then link your Riot account to a Twitch account. You can create a Twitch account here. 

When the closed beta activates in your region (EU or NA), you’ll have to tune in to Valorant-themed streams on Twitch for the opportunity to get closed beta access. 

Whatever progress you make during the closed beta will not carry over to launch, so everyone can begin “at the same starting line.” Riot also stated that they still plan to launch the game in the summer of 2020, so they’re planning on keeping the closed beta “as short as possible” unless they get a lot of “unexpected feedback.” 

While progress won’t be saved when the game hits the market, Riot stated in the press release that fans will get all the Valorant points they purchased during the closed beta back, plus 20% bonus as “thanks” for playing the beta. 

For additional details about the Valorant closed beta, including Twitch entitlement guidelines, visit Valorant’s official website.  

Get ready to play Valorant

With Valorant just a few weeks away for some lucky players, it’s important to look back on what Valorant is all about. 

Valorant is a first-person-shooter with gameplay that resembles both Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Overwatch. The game is broken down into rounds and has players purchasing weapons like CSGO, but also has them using abilities like various hero shooters. 

According to Donlon, the game isn’t only about “precise shooting, lethal gunplay, and strategic execution,” but also that added element of abilities. Each agent has their own unique set of abilities. Some are available automatically, some must be purchased, and one needs to be charged up with kills before being usable. 

One of the agents, Sage, was formally revealed earlier this week. Other agents also have had their abilities shared in various ways throughout the last few months. Each agent has their own strengths, weaknesses, and gameplay styles. People who have played those games know the importance of team compositions and when to use certain abilities to benefit the team. 

In fact, there’s most likely an agent with abilities quite similar to your main in Overwatch or Apex Legends. This could put you ahead of the other players in the closed beta.