State of the Maps - July 2024

Hello friends!

I’m Al Robles, lead producer for the VALORANT maps team. After an eventful mid-year for VALORANT, I wanted to take the time to connect with all of you on the current state of maps. We want to increase visibility into the work being done on the maps team, so you can expect regular “state of the maps” updates throughout the year. We’re hoping the increased transparency helps us gather useful feedback that we can use to make a better player experience!

ABYSS LAUNCH

In Patch 8.11, we launched our 11th mainline map, “ABYSS”. The team was very excited to finally unveil this boundary-pushing map (no pun intended). The reactions and shared clips are some of the most memorable clutch moments to date. Special shout out to some of the insane Operator trick shots being shared online. It’s always a little nerve-wracking when we introduce a new gameplay paradigm to players. While we won't always have such a noticeable gameplay hook on every map, we want to hear feedback on what resonates with you as a player. 

Some notable stats since ABYSS launch:

• Over 7 million games have been played on ABYSS by over 13+ million players. That’s  over 30+ million hours of gameplay!

• 9+ million players have fallen off the map in total, whether by accident or getting knocked off the edge by abilities. Splat.

We’ll be monitoring ABYSS match balance now that it’s been added to the competitive map pool. This will allow us to address any balance issues that pop up in the months to come. 

MAP POOLS

Speaking of balance, I wanted to take a moment to talk about MAP POOLS. 

Map pools are one of the most talked about topics in our community. We introduced map pools 2 years ago in an effort to address variety and mastery concerns. And while we’ve seen some positive outcomes from map pools, we’ve heard your feedback about some of their shortcomings and we’re looking at opportunities for further exploration. One of the exciting things about VALORANT wrapping up its 4th year (!), is that players are building an affinity for certain maps. Much like our Agents, a player's personal VALORANT identity is starting to include the maps they have the biggest connection to. 

While I don’t have anything to announce today, I do want the VALORANT community to know that we are looking closely at how to improve the overall map pool experience. In an effort to be proactive, we rolled out open map pools for our casual modes in 8.11. While it’s not a radical change, we hope it alleviates some of the concerns. 

A LOOK AHEAD

Let’s look ahead to what we have planned for the rest of the year…

First up, we’re making sure the rest of our maps are available to all of our new console players leading into the broader console release. We’ll continue to release 1 new map per patch, with all of our maps being on console by Patch 9.06.

Next, SUNSET will be getting a balance update that is targeting a 9.08 release. We’re exploring design updates to B Site to help deal with post plant spam/gameplay that we’ve been observing in matches. Expect these changes and maybe some minor quality of life fixes. 

Also in Patch 9.08, PEARL and SPLIT are returning to the competitive map pool. There will be no design updates to either map. Like you saw with HAVEN earlier this year, maps coming into rotation don’t always necessitate design changes. I want to point out that we make changes to maps that are out of rotation only if there is an opportunity to improve the player experience. Map pools are updated with the intention of changing the overall variety of the pool. A map being pulled from the pool doesn't necessarily mean it's time for a change to its design, but it's always something we consider when looking at meta/match data. With PEARL and SPLIT coming into the pool,  ICEBOX and LOTUS will be rotating out of the competitive map pool.

And finally, keep an eye out for numerous in-game easter eggs promoting both the finale of the VCT season as well as a key narrative update to ABYSS. 

As always, keep the map feedback coming and we’ll see you on the battlefield!