Joe Ziegler will be stepping down as Valorant’s Game Director, Andy Ho to take up the mantle 

Valorant fans ran into a bit of sad news right before New Year’s Eve as Joe Ziegler announced that he will be hanging up the mantle of Game Director effectively before the 2022 season officially kicks off.

He will be replaced by Andy Ho, who will be taking over operations. However, in the announcement, Joe did mention that he will “not be far from the game and the team and they’ll always have my support.”

Joe Ziegler was a part of the Valorant development team ever since the inception of Project A eight years ago. He has been there at every phase of the popular shooter’s development, and it’s indeed a very sad moment for the community to see him step down as Game Director.

In the announcement, Joe says,

“To fans and players of VALORANT worldwide, it is with a heart full of gratitude and a deep excitement that I come to you today with news. After 8 years of working on VALORANT, building it from the ground up with a team of dedicated and passionate developers who’ve worked tirelessly to serve you all with the respect and admiration that you deserve, I am giving up the mantle of game director of the VALORANT tac-shooter to my good friend, Andy Ho.”

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Andy Ho to replace Joe Ziegler as Valorant’s game director

Andy Ho will be the new Game Director for Valorant in 2022. He has been working closely with Joe on the shooter for years.

When talking about his colleague, Joe remarks in the statement,

“Andy is someone who I am proud to say has put many years of his own into VALORANT, and whose personal dedication to delivering to the highest standards inspires all who work with him. He has my full faith and trust that he will continue to grow and evolve VALORANT year-over-year to become even better than what I could imagine it to be. As for me, I’ll be starting something new (*wink, secrets...) in the hopes that we can even scratch the surface of the amazing impact VALORANT has already had so far.”

Joe Ziegler might be starting work on another project soon, but did mention that he will still be closely associated with the Valorant development team even after stepping down. He further goes on to state,

“That said, I’ll not be far from the game and the team and they’ll always have my support. Thank you to everyone who has supported and continues to support VALORANT, and a special shoutout to all who've supported me and my work. You’ve made my time as your game director a truly joyous and memorable experience.”

With Valorant’s next Agent right around the corner, it will be quite interesting to see what Riot Games will have in store for fans in the new season.