Valorant Open Beta Now Live On Xbox Series X|S & PlayStation 5, Game Pass Users Inherit Unique Perks

For a few years now, Riot Games’ Valorant has taken PC by storm for its continuation in the overarching League of Legends universe despite entering late with other similar shooters like Counter-Strike & CrossFire already established. What’s more is the nod to more platforms for this popular title. In the past, job listings suggested consoles are on the horizon.

Earlier this year, Riot Games confirmed both PlayStation 5 & Xbox Series X|S will be welcoming the game in 2024. Part of the promise is to feature closed testing periods for users on both platforms to test the waters. Of course, a blanket open beta for Valorant was also promised for sometime later this summer.

This Friday, Riot Games reveal the open beta is now live for both Xbox Series X|S & PlayStation 5. In an Xbox Wire post, the team elaborates on the differences for this version when translating the game from mouse & keyboard to controller.

On PC, Hip-Fire is the primary shooting mode, and Aim-Down-Sights is a secondary, supporting mode; the team experimented with multiple adaptations and gamepad sensitivities to try to accurately reproduce this on console, but never found a combination they were completely happy with. Hip-Fire didn’t feel the same, and the player didn’t have the same range of possibilities; the result was an overall dampened level of player expressiveness.

Enter Focus, a new shooting mode that functions much like Hip-Fire, but with reduced sensitivity. This lets players shoot from the hip whenever they need speed in moving both their camera and aim (think: peeking around corners and dodging) but with the ability to utilize Focus mode whenever they need to pull off a precise, calibrated headshot.

Some of the Agent abilities have been adapted for the new input controls, and various tunings across the board have all contributed to the team’s number one priority: capturing the dynamic pacing and mechanically expressive feel of the original.

“In terms of content, Valorant on Xbox maintains 1:1 continuity with everything the PC title has accrued since launch: all maps, weapons, modes and characters are included (and, with a Game Pass membership, you unlock every Agent released so far, as well as any new additions on day one),” Riot Games indicated in the blog post for bonuses subscribed to Xbox Game Pass.

This has been an ongoing trend for Microsoft & Riot Games featuring a slew of perks for its titles via PC Game Pass already. Titles including League Of Legends, Legends Of Runeterra, Teamfight Tactics, Valorant were all featured for this collaboration. You can read the full report by heading here.

Are you planning to try Valorant on console?

Valorant is currently available for PC.

Source: Xbox Wire