Earlier this year, Riot Games announced it would be bringing its hit free-to-play PC multiplayer shooter Valorant to consoles. Today, Microsoft announced that the open beta test for Valorant is now live for Xbox Series X and S consoles.
In case you are unaware of the game, Valorant is a sci-fi-themed shooter where you can control one of many different Agents, each with their own unique abilities and gameplay style. Teams of competing Agents battle it out in matches across 15 maps.
In a post on Xbox Wire, Microsoft stated:
Riot is sparing no effort in bringing the title to Xbox. Primarily, that comes through reproducing the finely-tuned balance that’s made the PC title such a hit – the team went through many iterations of translating the original mouse-and-keyboard controls to gamepad input.
One of the ways that Riot Games has adapted Valorant to consoles is the new Focus mode. Microsoft says:
This lets players shoot from the hip whenever they need speed in moving both their camera and aim (think: peeking around corners and dodging) but with the ability to utilize Focus mode whenever they need to pull off a precise, calibrated headshot.
The game is also coming to PS5 consoles as well. Microsoft has confirmed there will be cross-play support for both Xbox and PlayStation console platform. However, there will be no crossplay between the console ports and the PC version. The good news is that there will be cross-progression across all platforms for both cosmetic item purchases and the game"s Battle Passes.
While the game has technically not officially launched yet for Xbox gamers, anyone with a Game Pass membership will be able to unlock all of Valorant"s agents immediately during the Open Beta test. So far, there"s no word on when Valorant will get its official launch on Xbox consoles.