Valorant: Riot is all for updating existing skin lines, but only if there is a demand for it

If there is one thing in competitive multiplayer gaming that doesn’t age well, it is the cosmetics that the developers release, and Valorant might face that issue soon.

In League of Legends, not only does Riot constantly keep reworking their outdated champions, but they try to keep updating the underused skins as well.

From bringing in new splash art, to updating particles, to creating new ability animations, there is so much that needs to be tinkered and rehashed, in order to keep skins and champions relevant in the ever-changing meta of graphics and gameplay.

So, when addressing the issue with weapon cosmetics, the Valorant devs give us a very interesting reply in their latest Ask Valorant #8 session.

Riot is open to updating skins in Valorant

Screengrab from Valorant store

Valorant's art lead - Sean Marino, and Producer - Preeti Khanolkar replied to the question which asked, “Are you open to updating existing skins, like adding effects for Spline?”

The Valorant devs replied, “We’re open to it”. However, they continued by saying , “it’s not out of the question for us to update an existing skin line. It all comes down to how much players want it, how much work it is, and what things we don’t make as a result (weighing the trade-offs).”

Hence something like the Spline series, which requires adding “feature-based upgrades (like VFX, new animations, or audio)” is seemingly a no-go for the devs at the moment.

“Before we take on something like this, we want to make sure we're making changes players actually want, and that what we're doing is sustainable. That requires more research and testing, which takes time and resources to complete. So even if we did decide to pursue this, players probably wouldn't see it for a while. Going back to work on something we’ve already released means that we aren’t working on the next awesome thing that you’re all waiting for. This is a trade-off we don’t take lightly, because ultimately we want to prioritize the content you all want most.”

So Riot will definitely be upgrading the weapon skin lines in Valorant, but that will only be when they get completely outdated, or when players demand for them to be reworked.