About VALORANT
VALORANT is a character-based tactical shooter published by Riot Games. Two teams of five alternate between attacking and defending over a series of rounds, and each player has only one life per round, so positioning, timing and communication matter as much as aim. The game is free to play and is built for organized team matches.
Instead of relying only on weapons, players pick an agent with adaptive, fast or lethal abilities that create openings for their gunplay, and no two agents play alike. Queues include Competitive and Unranked matches, along with the shorter Deathmatch and Spike Rush modes. Maps are designed around team strategies and set plays, and the official site also promotes the game's esports events and regular patch notes.
Key features
- 5v5 attack-and-defend tactical rounds
- Agents with unique abilities
- One life per round
- Competitive and Unranked queues
- Deathmatch and Spike Rush modes
- Maps built for team strategies
Good fit for
- →Competitive team play with a regular squad
- →Casual matches in Unranked mode
- →Watching official esports events
- Tags
- tactical-shooter
- fps
- multiplayer
- pc-game
- free-to-play
- esports
- riot-games
VALORANT: questions and answers
- What is VALORANT used for?
- VALORANT is a free-to-play 5v5 tactical shooter from Riot Games that pairs precise gunplay with agents who each have unique abilities. It is a good fit for competitive team play with a regular squad, casual matches in Unranked mode and watching official esports events.
- Is VALORANT free?
- Yes. VALORANT is free to use.
- Is VALORANT open source?
- No. VALORANT is proprietary (closed-source) software. In the Games & Emulation category, open-source options include OpenTTD, Sunshine and Proton.
- What are some alternatives to VALORANT?
- VALORANT competes with Counter-Strike 2 and Apex Legends.
Open-source alternatives to VALORANT
See all
OpenTTD
Games & Emulation
OpenTTD is an open source simulation game based upon Transport Tycoon Deluxe
OSS★ 8.3k
Sunshine
Games & Emulation
Self-hosted game stream host for Moonlight.
GPL-3.0vs GeForce NOW★ 42k
Proton
Games & Emulation
Compatibility tool for Steam Play based on Wine and additional components
OSS★ 33k
RPCS3
Games & Emulation
PlayStation 3 emulator and debugger
GPL-2.0★ 20k
Moonlight
Games & Emulation
GameStream client for PCs (Windows, Mac, Linux, and Steam Link)
GPL-3.0vs GeForce NOW★ 19k
Lichess
Games & Emulation
♞ lichess.org: the forever free, adless and open source chess server ♞
AGPL-3.0vs Chess.com★ 19k
SaaS alternatives to VALORANT
See all
Counter-Strike 2
Games & Emulation
Competitive tactical shooter from Valve
SaaS
Apex Legends
Games & Emulation
Free-to-play hero shooter battle royale from Respawn and EA
SaaS
Fortnite
Games & Emulation
Battle royale and creative game from Epic Games
SaaS
League of Legends
Games & Emulation
Team-based multiplayer online battle arena game from Riot Games
SaaSDota 2
Games & Emulation
Free-to-play multiplayer online battle arena game from Valve
SaaS
World of Warcraft
Games & Emulation
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game from Blizzard
SaaS

