This summer might be one of the biggest yet for mobile shooters, and Valorant fans might be very happy with the reason why.
Over recent months, there have been multiple rumbles that a number of AAA titles are set to receive mobile ports. Apex Legends Mobile is already in a regional beta stage. PUBG: New State is set to be a successor to PUBG Mobile, is also poised for a 2021 release. On top of that, a Valorant mobile port might also be ready to release later this year.
According to mobile game data miner PlayerIGN, Valorant Mobile is potentially in line to be revealed this summer. He states that the game is in development with a reveal coming as early as June, possibly as part of E3 2021. IGN India recently followed up on this with unnamed sources in Riot Games confirming that the game exists and that the company is “trying to gauge which markets it would work in.”
Valorant Mobile has long been a hot rumor, with a number of rumblings in the past. Data miners rummaged through the game’s files last year and uncovered code that suggested console and mobile versions were both in the works for Riot’s tactical shooter. There have also been alleged screenshots of a UI for Valorant Mobile, though it is unclear if these are legitimate.
Though Riot Games was long at the butt of jokes for really only having one successful game in the marketplace, the League of Legends developer has expanded rapidly over the last two years. Alongside Valorant and TCG Legends of Runeterra, the company has launched a mobile version of Teamfight Tactics and a League of Legends spinoff in Wild Rift. Turning around a mobile version of Valorant wouldn’t be an especially big surprise, especially given how the game has been specifically designed to run on less-powerful hardware.
Valorant was built from the ground up with the intent of it being able to run effectively on weaker hardware, something that has earned some jeers from fans when it comes to its graphics. While that makes for a PC experience that is less aesthetically pleasing than it could be, it should make it able to more effectively run on mobile devices.
Naturally, phones and tablets have a very broad range of processing power, which will make it so that some mobile devices run it smoothly while others struggle to even boot the game. Riot has done well in terms of making its games accessible, so Valorant mobile will likely be solid for anyone that enjoys playing shooters on mobile devices.
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