As 2024 draws to a close, it's the perfect time to reflect on the year's highlights. For Valorant, this year was full of events that players will remember for a long time. The developers surprised us with new agents, maps, and unique mechanics. The community continues to thrive, delighting fans with creative projects, while the esports scene delivered several significant events.
The biggest surprises in Valorant in 2024
A new versatile agent
With each new agent, Valorant fans marvel at the creativity and ingenuity of the developers. The release of Clove, one of the latest agents, was no exception. Fans eagerly anticipated their launch, carefully exploring Clove's abilities and the new mechanics that hadn't been used with other characters before.
Clove became a truly versatile agent, incorporating the best qualities of other characters. While the subsequent release of Vyse was noteworthy, it didn’t create the same level of excitement. In addition to their versatile abilities, Clove also became the first non-binary agent, adding to their uniqueness among the roster.
A unique new map
2024 was packed with exciting updates, including versatile agents, new mechanics, and the addition of the Abyss map with its unusual design. Why does Abyss deserve a spot among the surprises of 2024? Simply because it’s the first map where players can fall off the edges, setting it apart from others and introducing new strategies and diversity to the game.
Following the 8.11 update, which brought improvements for several agents and the Abyss map, the Valorant community largely embraced the new location positively. Abyss has added a wealth of varied content to the game, including numerous pitfalls that players can fall into. These unique features led to the discovery of many bugs and interesting tricks. Its distinctiveness has endeared it to players, who frequently discuss it on forums, even suggesting a mode where Abyss is the sole playable map.
Valorant comes to PS5 and Xbox Series S/X
Arguably the most significant event in the game’s history was its launch on other platforms in the summer of 2024. Riot Games had long planned to broaden its audience, and bringing Valorant to consoles achieved this goal. The game received several additional updates and was fully optimized for consoles and controllers.
This major step created a buzz within the community, increasing player activity and even positively impacting the esports side of the game. Despite the console version's recent release, some influencers are already organizing online and offline tournaments for console players, seeking to establish this as a new branch of competition distinct from traditional esports.
Regional price adjustments
While 2024 brought many pleasant surprises, it also delivered some unfortunate news for certain Valorant regions. Although some regions saw reductions in the cost of VP (Valorant Points), others experienced price hikes of over 70%, sparking strong reactions within the community.
This move by Riot Games is part of an effort to combat third-party marketplaces and resellers who enable players to purchase currency at lower costs. The decision faced criticism from players across various platforms, but Riot remained steadfast, updating regional prices to almost equalize VP costs globally.
This was the first time Riot Games made such a significant change to regional pricing since Valorant's launch, ensuring it will remain a memorable moment for long-time fans of the game.
World champions from a new region
On August 25, 2024, one of the year’s most impressive tournaments concluded, undoubtedly becoming one of the most epic events in Valorant esports history — Valorant Champions 2024. The winner was EDward Gaming, who secured the first international trophy for the Chinese region, a victory that did not come easily.
In 2023, Riot Games officially announced the launch of Valorant in the Chinese region. The game’s release in China was a phenomenal success. According to Tencent, it was the most successful PC game launch based on the number of active users on the first day. Alongside the game’s release, Riot also introduced a series of VCT tournaments for the new region. Consequently, EDward Gaming, who previously competed in the Pacific region, transitioned to the Chinese region.
After a year of competing, the team achieved success by qualifying for the 2024 World Championship, where they brought home the first championship trophy for their region. This triumph became the biggest story on the Valorant esports stage.
TenZ retires from professional esports
Equally shocking was the news of Tyson "TenZ" Ngo retiring from the professional scene. The most iconic and popular player, previously representing Cloud9 and Sentinels, announced his retirement last fall and transitioned into a content creator role.
TenZ shared the news of his retirement on X (formerly Twitter), explaining that he wanted to focus on content creation and other aspects of his life. He noted that he didn’t want to finish the 2023 season without any notable achievements and decided to retire before the start of the 2024 season.
In his statement, TenZ said:
At the start of this year, I knew I’d retire. So I told myself, 'This is my last year.' My goal was to play to the best of my ability and have no regrets about it. I felt it. There are so many things I want to do outside the game, and I need motivation and more time to focus on them.
TenZ explained that he no longer enjoyed playing Valorant. He pointed to the increasing randomness in the game as the main reason, saying it felt more like a hero shooter akin to Overwatch rather than a tactical game like Counter-Strike. However, he clarified that he doesn’t hate the game; it simply no longer brought him the level of enjoyment needed to continue his professional career.
The year 2024 has been one of the most eventful and memorable in Valorant’s history. New agents, unique maps, the game’s launch on consoles, and thrilling esports moments all proved that Valorant continues to evolve and surprise its dedicated fan base.
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