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VALORANT Replay System confirmed for September patch

Lee Jones

| May 30, 2025

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After teasing the addition last month, developer Riot Games has confirmed that replays will be coming to VALORANT this September. The addition will finally be live for PC players in patch 11.06.

VALORANT Replay System confirmed for September patch

First look at replays

First announced by Anna Donlan, Head of VALORANT Studios, in a video on April 30th, the addition of a reply system has now been confirmed to be on its way in patch 11.06, expected to go live in September.

Further details about the replay system were revealed in Riot’s latest development update, provided by Andy Ho, Executive Producer. In it, Ho explained how replays will allow players to “analyse your recently played games on the live patch”. He added that this will initially be available for competitive games, with other modes to be added later down the line.

“You’ll be able to click through each player’s perspective, you’ll have a free-moving observer cam, and you’ll have some other playback control tools as well.”

VALRANT Replay System controls — Image credit: Riot Games

The video also provided the first look at the replay system’s user interface, which includes buttons to skip rounds and change playback speeds.

A replay system being added to VALORANT will draw to a close five years of requests and complaints from fans, with many having expected such a feature at release considering Counter-Striker — VALORANT’s biggest competitor — has had replays in some form for more than two decades.

VCT changes hinted

While no concrete changes to the game’s esports circuit, the VALORANT Champions Tour, were explicitly explained, Leo Faria, Global Head of VALORANT Esports, stated that the end of the first cycle of partnership agreements next years means that there will be flexibility to make significant changes to the scene in 2027.

He explained how “more openness” is desired, with the potential for competition between tier 1 and tier 2 teams and giving them more chances to compete on grander stages. This is likely what he was hinting at in a recent Reddit comment surrounding the ongoing NA tier 2 match-fixing scandal, in which many feel players’ lack of financial stability is a factor.

“We’re cooking something for 2027+ that will help attract investment and increase the stakes of Challengers. I think you will all dig it. We’ll start talking about it relatively soon.”

In the development update, Faria also stated the desire for more “ecosystem moments”, hinting heavily towards the introduction of regional offline events.

“Events like Masters and Champions have been incredibly valuable because they allow us to bring together all things that make VALORANT special: the game, the sport, the community, the culture. While we think the number of global events is still appropriate, we’re looking to create more moments like that, especially at a regional level”.

Game updates

Much of the development update centred around incoming gameplay changes. Riot has said it’s aiming to “take a more holistic look” at the game, particularly around abilities. Tenz’s March criticism of the game, whereby he highlighted the difference between the 2025 ability-focused meta against Riot’s own stated aims to have a game that revolves around “precise gunplay”, led to significant discourse around the tuning of abilities in the game.

While much of that discourse has dissipated following Tejo and Breach nerfs, Riot has insisted that they will “continue to monitor how VALORANT is being played” along with player feedback, adding that some changes to be made after VALORANT Champions will help to maintain the balance between gunplay and abilities.

VALORANT map teaser — Image credit: Riot Games

The video also teased a new map, the first that will be added to the game since the launch of Abyss this time last year. The new map will be allowed in competitive queue from the first day that patch 11.00 is released, with reduced RR losses on defeats played on the map in its opening two weeks. Players will still receive full RR gains for victories.

Additionally, multi-factor authentication is to be made a requirement, a move said to be in an effort to reduce smurfing and account sharing, as explained in the update by Stephen Kraman, Competitive Systems Product Lead.

Also revealed by Andy Ho was the game’s imminent move to Unreal Engine 5, a switch expected in July’s patch 11.02. Ho provided a small warning about the patch, asking for patience from players due to its “significantly large download”, adding that the developer has “gone to great lengths” to prevent short-term gameplay disruption.

“The patch will, however, come with changes that will improve framerate performance, make patch downloads faster in the future, and there will also be a special gun buddy to commemorate the occasion for everyone that logs in while the 11.02 patch is still live.

“Over the long term, bringing VAL onto Unreal 5 will enable a whole host of new possibilities.”

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VALORANT Champions 2025 VALORANT Champions Tour

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Lee Jones

VALORANT Content Lead

By day, Lee is a self-taught esports journalist who has written for a number of publications covering some of esports’ biggest events. By night, Lee is a world record holder as the fastest player ever to be fired on Football Manager.

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