Valorant Sets July Switch to Unreal Engine 5, adds 2FA to Combat Smurfing
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- Valorant moves to Unreal Engine 5 in July with performance upgrades and a login reward.
- New anti-smurfing tools include 2FA and account behavior tracking.
- Patch 11.00 brings a new Competitive map and agent balance changes.
Riot Games has unveiled sweeping updates coming to Valorant starting with Patch 11.00, highlighted by an engine upgrade to Unreal Engine 5 and new anti-smurfing measures aimed at improving competitive integrity.
The engine switch will arrive with Patch 11.02 in late July and marks the game’s transition from Unreal Engine 4, used since development began over a decade ago. Riot promises improved framerates, faster future patch downloads, and no disruption to gameplay feel or lineups. A commemorative gun buddy will be gifted to anyone who logs in during the patch window.
Alongside the technical overhaul, Riot is cracking down on smurfing (when experienced and/or banned players create or use lower-ranked accounts to play against less skilled opponents) with a multi-factor authentication system, initially rolled out for suspicious accounts and potentially expanded to all Competitive players. A new in-game behavior system will also show warnings and penalties tied to individual accounts.
Patch 11.00 will add a new map directly into Competitive play with reduced Ranked Rating losses during the first two weeks, encouraging early adoption. Replays will debut in September (Patch 11.06) for Competitive matches on PC, with console support to follow. Additional tweaks to agent abilities, ultimates, and debuffs are in the works post-Champions 2025.
The updates coincide with Valorant’s fifth anniversary, as Riot also plans to launch a celebratory event pass and cosmetics capsule honoring iconic in-game moments from the past five years.
Valorant is a free-to-play tactical first-person shooter developed by Riot Games, officially released on June 2, 2020, for PC. The 5v5 competitive title became one of the most prominent shooters on the market with over 20 million monthly active players on average. Valorant maintains noticeable presence in esports through the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT), a global competitive circuit featuring franchised teams, international tournaments, and regional qualifiers.
