There are 12 different maps in Valorant, which rotate in and out of the Competitive mode every two months. However, there’s one exception — the Breeze map. As of early November 2025, Breeze hasn’t appeared in the ranked map pool for over 500 days. Today, we’ll tell you more about this location and figure out why the developers continue to ignore the beach-themed map.

History of Breeze

Breeze first appeared in the game in patch 2.08, released in April 2021. The map is designed in a tropical beach setting, surrounded by the ocean on both sides. The location features both a large open mid area and plenty of hiding spots and boxes on both spike sites. Additionally, Breeze has several unique features:

• Presence of ziplines and automatic doors – The first unique feature is that Breeze includes both ziplines and two pairs of automatic doors. Usually, other maps have one or the other — for example, doors on Ascent or ziplines on Split. But on Breeze, developers decided to include both.

• One of the largest maps in the game – Another notable aspect is that even in 2025, Breeze remains one of the two largest maps by size. Only Corrode, which was released in June 2025, matches it in scale. Starting with patch 8.11 in June 2024, Breeze was removed from the general rotation and hasn’t returned since. At the time of writing, the map has been absent from Competitive rotation for 514 days, an absolute anti-record. Currently, Breeze can only be played in Unrated mode or on custom games.

What is known about the map now

Despite so much time passing since its removal, Riot Games has provided very little information about what’s actually happening with Breeze. Recently, rumors circulated that the map might be permanently deleted, but there has been no confirmation — most likely, it was just a joke.

Furthermore, it’s known that Riot Games is indeed working on Breeze. On Reddit, RiotAltombre, a product manager, wrote that the team is working on updates for Breeze and that once ready, the map will return.

We are currently working on updates for the map. As soon as the updates are ready, Breeze will return to the pool — stay tuned for news!

At the recent Tokyo Game Show 2025, Valorant map developers were also present, and among the questions asked was one about Breeze. While they didn’t share any specifics, they did confirm that the map will not be removed permanently and that work is being done on it.

What will happen to ventilation on Breeze?
I can't say anything. But we are closely monitoring Breeze.

Additionally, the first visual changes to the map were accidentally discovered. Riot Games published a video on their social media about stronger penalties for smurfing and cheating. In that video, players noticed a segment showing Breeze’s minimap. It seems that developers may have reworked the tunnel on site A, adding some new texture or layout adjustments.

Why Breeze has been absent for so long

Finally, let’s speculate on why Breeze has been gone for so long and when it might return to the competitive pool.

• Unpopularity among the community – The first reason, in our opinion, is that Breeze simply isn’t very popular among the Valorant community. The map is very large, which makes it difficult for players to rotate quickly between sites, and the overly open mid area makes crossing dangerous. A similar situation happened with Fracture — considered the worst map in the game — which was also absent for nearly 500 days.

• Massive rework – The second possible reason is that the developers are preparing extensive changes to the map. If Breeze is undergoing a full rework, testing every agent interaction and balancing all aspects of the gameplay naturally takes a lot of time. This could explain its long absence.

• Optimization for the new engine – In 2025, Valorant officially transitioned to Unreal Engine 5, meaning all older maps needed to be adapted to the new engine. Since Breeze isn’t part of the competitive rotation, it may be one of the last to receive its updates and still isn’t ready for ranked play.

• Adaptation for the professional scene – Finally, it’s possible that the developers are refining the map for professional players. They might be consulting with pro teams to make Breeze more suitable for major tournaments.

Currently, it’s unknown when Breeze will return to the competitive pool, but it’s likely to happen only after January 2026. Valorant’s 2025 Season began on January 8 and will last for one year. Considering how long the map has been unavailable, it’s reasonable to expect its comeback alongside a major content update — typically announced with the start of a new season, scheduled for January 2026.