Valorant Gets Surprise Releases on PS5, Xbox Series X

Valorant is now out and free on the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

By Tanner Dedmon

Valorant was first available only on the PC platform, but after kicking off an open beta for the game last week, Riot Games has now just as abruptly released the game in full on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S platforms. It's a free-to-play shooter, too, which means that you can hop in with delay after you've downloaded it and gotten a feel for the mechanics. If you're playing on the Xbox platform and have Xbox Game Pass, you've also got some extra incentives waiting for you once you get started.

Riot Games made the somewhat surprising announcement on Friday that Valorant was out now, though some rumors about it getting a quick release today somewhat spoiled the reveal beforehand. Regardless, it's out, so if you tried it on PC but wanted to play it elsewhere, it's available now.

While Valorant is indeed a tactical, team-based shooter where only a few shots will be enough to take out enemies, it also features abilities specific to certain Agents that you have to learn to play as and agains.

"Valorant is a character-based 5v5 tactical shooter set on the global stage," a quick look at the game offered. "Outwit, outplay, and outshine your competition with tactical abilities, precise gunplay, and adaptive teamwork."

Though Valorant is free, it's also part of the Xbox Game Pass library just like League of Legends is after Microsoft and Riot Games partnered up years ago. This means that you get extra perks in Valorant if you're an Xbox Game Pass subscriber including extra Agents and unlocked Agents right as they're released. 

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"You'll be able to unlock more as you play games, but if you have Xbox Game Pass, all Agents will be unlocked for you," Riot said previously. "If you have Game Pass it will also automatically unlock new Agents for you on day one as well, so whenever we launch our next Agent you'll be able to play them the minute they go live."

Valorant does not feature crossplay between the console and PC versions of the game, so you don't have to worry about playing against mouse and keyboard users on PC. There is cross-progression between consoles, however, so if you're a PS5 player who doubles as an Xbox Game Pass subscriber, you get the perks while playing on PlayStation so long as you claim them on the Xbox version.

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