Is Valorant moving to Unreal Engine 5? Possibilities explored

Riot Games created Valorant on the Unreal Engine 4. The game has been thoroughly successful since launch and its overall build is rather stable. However, it appears that the developers are now looking to move up to Unreal Engine 5. Recently, Senior Vice President, Anna Donlon spoke to fans about the future of the FPS title.

Anna Donlon assured everyone that many developers at Riot Games feel positive about moving to Unreal Engine 5 as soon as possible. In fact, even though she felt that the move would be difficult, she believed it was necessary to ensure the title's longevity.

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Valorant studio head confirms UE5 move

Recently, Anna Donlon addressed the fans, mentioning that Riot Games has made great use of Unreal Engine 4. However, the old technology is apparently limiting them, which is why developers are ready to move up to Unreal Engine 5.

"There are many devs back at Riot who are excited about what UE5 can do for us in the future... maybe those devs are working on something I can't talk about."

The secrecy around the changes could mean anything from a more vibrant playing experience to newer titles with different mechanics. As of right now, the only thing certain is that Riot Games is looking to push Valorant's boundaries to make it bigger.

Naturally, this is a big change for the game and will be gradual. No dates were provided but it was indicated that the use of UE 5 won't change how the game performs or looks. According to Anna Donlon:

"This upgrade is not going to significantly change how VAL looks or performs, at least not right away"

Valorant is a live service game since it requires constant updates by devs. For instance, patch 9.06 was released quite recently. Such patches are rather regular which makes it difficult to shift to a different version of UE. Regardless, Unreal Engine 5 is coming, and perhaps, so are other games in the universe.

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Riot Games working towards expanding the Valorant universe with new games

Anna Donlon, Head of Valorant Studios/Senior Vice President (Image via Riot Games)

In her address, Anna Donlon maintained an air of secrecy. She mentioned that Riot Games remains thankful for what Unreal Engine has allowed them to do with the game.

Furthermore, if Valorant moves to Unreal Engine 5, it could mean the expansion of the universe. Riot Games has a history of branching their games out like they did with League of Legends. Perhaps, the same will happen to the FPS franchise and more games could be on the way.