Valorant leaks suggest battle royale mode is in development

Valorant is reportedly getting its own Batte Royale, according to a leaker and dataminer who works in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.

A sizable chunk of Valorant’s player base comes from battle royale games and an insider name PlayerIGN has pleasant news for them as he reports that a Valorant battle royale is already being tested. 

Many multiplayer games lost players to Valorant in 2020, while Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has seen a significant dip over recent months. However, Fortnite also saw numerous professional players move to Valorant, who completely transformed their playstyle to suit the tactical shooter. The new game mode reported by PlayerIGN will allow these players to revisit their home turf in Valorant. 

Is a Valorant Battle Royale coming soon?

PlayerIGN has accurately reported other updates and agent additions. This time, he’s insistent that Riot Games is working on a PUBG-inspired Valorant experience. The insider teased the battle royale mode last year, but no one paid much attention to the news. He recently updated his older tweet with a video link, which revealed that Valorant Battle Royale might be happening behind the curtains. 

The insider further claimed that the game mode is already in the exploratory phase, and numerous PUBG players have been testing it out. The reports come weeks after the confirmation of Valorant Mobile, which may arrive soon. It’s highly likely that Riot Games is cooking up a Battle Royale version specifically for mobile phone users. 

After all, Anna Donlon had previously stressed that the “mobile player need is different” and that the developer is focusing on fulfilling those needs without creating a 1:1 replication of the PC experience. 

“We’re not trying to convert Valorant PC players into Valorant Mobile players or vice versa. We’re absolutely just as committed to keeping the PC experience at the quality level it is or higher,” Anna Donlon said. 

It’s unclear if the Valorant battle royale will be its own standalone game or a game mode within Valorant similar to CSGO’s Danger Zone. If it’s a game mode within Valorant, it’s uncertain whether it will be a permanent expansion of the matchmaking options or whether it might get added to the list of rotating LTMs alongside Replication, Escalation, and Snowball Fight. The developer recently announced that each mode would replace another after an interval of about two weeks. 

Whatever the case, players may get to try out what would essentially be a Valorant-Apex Legends hybrid. Given how successful Riot Games was with taking over the auto-battler genre with Teamfight Tactics, this might be bad news for Respawn Entertainment, Epic Games, and Bluehole.