What you need to know
- Valorant Studios head Anna Donlon took the stage at Unreal Fest 2024 in Seattle to announce the competitive shooter is moving from Unreal Engine 4 to Unreal Engine 5.
- Donlon also teased “totally hypothetical new playable experiences” for Valorant as part of the announcement.
- The switch to UE5 is not expected to change Valorant’s visuals or performance at first dramatically. Still, Donlon describes the switch as necessary for the game’s future despite the difficulty of changing a live service game’s engine.
As a dedicated Valorant player who has spent countless hours strategizing and competing with friends, I can’t help but feel a sense of excitement and anticipation hearing about the game’s transition to Unreal Engine 5. Anna Donlon’s experience at Riot Games shines through in her understanding of the global community and the need for a flexible engine like Unreal that allows developers to focus on innovation rather than the technicalities.
During the opening ceremony of Unreal Fest Seattle 2024, Anna Donlon, who is the Senior Vice President and Studio Head of Valorant, was one of the speakers. She revealed that the team at Riot Games plans to transfer their competitive, live-service first-person shooter game, Valorant, over to Unreal Engine 5. Additionally, she hinted at upcoming Valorant projects.
Valorant, a fast-paced, strategic team shooter, isn’t famous for its high-end graphics, which Donlan admitted during her talk. Donlan explained that they aimed to create a game that is global in nature, reflecting and honoring our diverse communities worldwide. This meant making the game compatible with a variety of computer specifications, even those that might feel underpowered. Donlan credits Unreal Engine for providing a versatile foundation, allowing developers to concentrate on innovation rather than technical constraints. In essence, she believes that without Unreal Engine, Valorant wouldn’t have been possible.
Donlan adds that Valorant is operating on Unreal Engine version 4.27, and he mentioned they’ve taken full advantage of all the features available at this version. He went on to say, “Now we are transitioning to UE5.” Although the upgrade signifies a leap in engine technology, it isn’t anticipated to bring significant changes in Valorant’s graphics quality or performance. Instead, the new update is expected to serve as a base for future projects.
Donlan hinted, “Perhaps the developers are engaged in a project I’m not at liberty to discuss,” but what he might mean is that they’re brainstorming ways to broaden the Val universe for players to explore. It could be that we’re extremely lucky to have access to all the benefits that UE5 provides.
Initially, Valorant was primarily conceived for PC gaming. However, it made its way onto Xbox and PlayStation platforms this year. Donlan expresses his initial skepticism about such a move, saying “FPS games on consoles? Of course. But a tactical shooter like Valorant, aiming to deliver the gameplay we’re known for? Frankly, it was hard for us to envision.” He further explains that if Valorant had been built using a PC-centric proprietary game engine, its console versions might not have materialized, as Riot Games hadn’t previously released a live-service title on console.
As stated by Donlon, the versatility of Unreal Engine in supporting various platforms offers advantages such as optimized rendering and input handling tailored for each platform. This enables the development team to primarily concentrate on vital game aspects like core mechanics, anti-cheat measures, and other features of Valorant, rather than spending significant time on the process of porting the game to different platforms.
Approximately 35 million gamers are enjoying Valorant across various platforms right now, and a significant portion of this success can be attributed to our partnership with Unreal Engine, as shared by Donlan.
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2024-10-02 23:39