Episode 7 of VALORANT introduced us to the beloved agents Deadlock and Gekko, as well as an exciting new Team Deathmatch mode and the international introduction of China into the VALORANT universe.
Recent leaks of alleged in-game content for Episode 8, Act 1 reveal that players may expect just as many entertaining surprises in 2024. There’s a lot to unpack in this impending update, from a mysterious agent to a brand-new gun.
Here’s a look at these intriguing improvements, as well as a rundown of everything we presently know about VALORANT’s Episode 8.
Valorant Episode 8 Release Date
Episode 8 of VALORANT will premiere on January 10th, 2024 at 7 p.m. ET. The program will begin with Act 1 and progress through several acts, each of which will last several months. Act 2 is expected to air in March and will introduce new characters, including a new agent.
Our devs and @ArrumieShannon are teaming up for a stream dedicated to all things Episode 8 Act 1. They’ll talk about our newest weapon, Kuronami skinline, lore, and map updates.
Set up your co-stream or join the chat JAN 8, 10AM PT at https://t.co/wPheJoPjqB pic.twitter.com/RHY09uENI3
— VALORANT (@VALORANT) January 3, 2024
Valorant Episode 8 Map Rotation
Riot Games stated in 2022 that it intends to run Valorant with a total of seven maps owing to tournaments having best-of-five series during grand finals. A seven-map package would allow each side to prohibit one map without having to repeat picks.
Riot chose to keep a seven-map pool after consulting with the in-house esports team, surveying players, and speaking with professional organizations, and that remains the norm to this day.
The maps in this pool, however, are altered every few months, usually before the start of a new season. The following is the whole map rotation for the forthcoming Valorant Episode 8.
Valorant announced the seven-map pool for the forthcoming season earlier today, on January 2nd, 2024.
- Icebox
- Lotus
- Sunset
- Breeze
- Ascent
- Bind
- Split
Haven is the map that has been removed from the current map pool. The initial three-site map in Valorant has been replaced by Icebox, which was removed from active map rotation in April 2023 and will return after nine months.
However, the map will not be the same because it will undergo certain alterations during its time away from the server.
Episode 8 maps + modes changes:
Modes will use the Competitive map rotation, so that you’ll always play on the most relevant maps. Doesn’t apply to TDM and Custom games.
🗺️Next rotation: Icebox, Lotus, Sunset, Breeze, Ascent, Bind, Split
🗺️Icebox + Lotus updates coming w/ EP8
— VALORANT (@VALORANT) January 2, 2024
Icebox will not be the only terrain to change its return in Valorant Episode 8. Lotus, another three-site map, will be tweaked before continuing as part of the seven-map pool.
The specific improvements made to these maps have not been released at this time, but will hopefully be revealed shortly, with only a week till the next major update goes live.
In addition to the somewhat altered map pool and the adjustments coming to the two maps with Valorant Episode 8, the developers revealed that all game modes, except Team Death Match and Custom Games, would now employ the seven-map rotation.
This choice was made to allow players to always play on the most relevant maps.
Unfortunately, the community has had a mixed reaction to this statement, with many believing that other game modes such as Swiftplay, Replication, Spike Rush, and others exist in Valorant for players to simply have fun.
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