Riot Games' tactical FPS Valorant is making its way to mobile platforms.
The news comes in conjunction with Valorant's first anniversary as a part of Riot's plans to distribute the game to other systems, with a mobile release leading the way. "We didn't start out with 'We're making Valorant on mobile,' we started out with 'Can we make Valorant on mobile?' with a lot of skepticism," Valorant executive producer Anna Donlon told Polygon. "For us, whatever you get out of playing on PC, you should get out of playing Valorant on mobile. But we have to recognize that the mobile player need is different."
The details of what exactly will be different in the forthcoming mobile release were not specified, but Donlon stressed that the mobile version will have a separately curated experience from PC. "The same way that we're not going to deliver a subpar mobile experience for mobile players, we're not going to compromise the PC experience either. We're not trying to convert Valorant PC players into Valorant Mobile players or vice versa," she said. "We're absolutely just as committed to keeping the PC experience at the quality level it is or higher, and we're not going to compromise it in order to address the mobile market." Consequently, Donlon clarified that there were no plans to implement cross-play at this time.
While Riot Games has also been "definitely prototyping" a console release, no official announcement has been made. Instead, a console release will be preceded by the mobile version, a transition which Donlon described as "slightly easier" for the team. "Console's obvious for FPS, right? [...] But this type of game, a tactical shooter, on console is not easy," she said. "It's not easy to have that level of competitive integrity on a platform where the controller is fighting you for that. And we just didn't want it. [...] So we found it took to mobile quicker and it took to mobile easier."
As for when fans can expect Valorant Mobile, no definitive release window has been declared. "We're not confirming dates, but hopefully that's something we'll be able to see in year two," Donlon stated.
Developed and published by Riot Games, Valorant is available now for free on PC.
Source: Polygon
0 Comments