Valorant is currently only available for PC. But what about consoles like PS4, Xbox One, or Nintendo Switch? Riot executive Anna Donlon has now commented on this.
Is Valorant coming to consoles after all? In an interview on GameSpot, Anna Donlon, Executive Producer at Riot Games, spoke about the possible release of Valorant on consoles. She had both positive and negative comments on this:
We are currently testing this in the prototype stage. But there is a certain way to play and experience this game. We are not sure if that can be translated well to console gameplay.
Console version right or not at all
This is what the developer meant: With this statement, Donlon meant that there is indeed a desire for a console version of Valorant. But they are not willing to make compromises on gameplay for that.
If we feel that we can convey this experience on those platforms, we will definitely do it. But we really want Valorant to stand for a certain type of gameplay and a certain type of experience.
This means that if Riot feels that they need to make any “compromises” regarding any part of the core experience of Valorant to make it work on consoles, then that won’t happen.
So the statement remains “All or nothing”. According to Donlon, it is important for Valorant to maintain tactical, competitive gameplay. This includes precise shots and a lot of skill with the weapons. This is particularly difficult to implement on controllers, especially since Valorant consistently does without aim assist and similar features that distort the game feel.
However, if there is a way to implement the game without compromises, then Riot is ready for it:
I believe there is something to “crack” that our team is really looking forward to. What we have said is: “If we feel we can deliver this experience on those platforms, then we will definitely do it.”
However, since Riot is still experimenting, it may take some time before concrete details about the possible console launch of the game are revealed. At least it would be desirable, as Riot’s tactical shooter Valorant has already set massive records in beta and unintentionally “destroyed” Twitch.
