After what many VALORANT players would consider a lifetime, Riot Games finally unveiled its first look at the upcoming replay system. Although monumental news, there was also a caveat that might disappoint longtime players—the system is far from ready and will need a lot more time to perfect.
In a new developer video, VALORANT tech lead Marcus Reid showed off the first iteration of the replay system, with some quick fly-bys on a free cam during a recorded match. This prototype looked rather simple, with a pause and play button, a toggle cursor option, the ability to cycle through agents, hiding the UI, and activating free cam and agent overlays.
He did, however, follow this up by saying the replay system is “nowhere near launch,” citing multiple different challenges the team has been facing over the last year. For example, replays introduce different aspects that were never considered when VALORANT was first launched, such as time pauses, viewing specific rounds, and rewinding plays as they occur.
As a result, there have been instances where abilities do not activate properly during replays, map mechanics have completely broken, and other issues that have popped up with the new system. From casual fans looking to relive an impressive clip to pro teams skimming through a VOD review, these issues will need to be ironed out and replays must be perfect before they can go live.
This might not be the news fans have been waiting for, but at least players can say Riot is finally working on the system. Riot first addressed the demand for a replay system in January 2023, but also said it would take a long time to implement into the game. Last March, Anna Donlon also briefly touched on the complications behind replays in a press conference, but now we’ve finally gotten a glimpse at what a replay system could look like.
In the meantime, players can get excited for all of the upcoming changes headed to the game in Patch 8.11, including massive map changes for the current rotation.
