The feature Riot Games said they would “fix later” after it was first announced during their VALORANT launch is finally coming! Riot finally gave us the replay feature we’ve been anticipating for months, and not only are they developing it, but they are also committed to releasing it during patch 11.06—no more promises, no more waiting, it’s coming!
I’m breaking this down because the details around this are really significant. Given that the replay system will only be released in competitive matches during the first iteration, this is unfortunate because I believe all the other modes would’ve greatly benefited from this feature for the first-time discovery of gameplay analysis, mistakes, and so-called “clutch” moments in casual games. Riot will fully release all other modes later in the year, and the PC version will be released first, followed by the release on consoles later this year, which is typical of Riot’s ‘special access to PC’ policy.
The news was posted on the Valorant News Twitter handle, so I checked the comments… and, of course, the comments. It’s evident everybody has been yearning for this update. Axel, one of the users, commented, “now I can finally see all the bullshit ways I die,” which in terms of sporting events… is very understandable. I can recount many times I have been “one-tapped” and, like many others, was stuck in the endless loop of asking “wait, how did that even happen,” and now all this can be explained, so yes, this is great but also maddening.
Nonetheless, there is some opposition to it. A faction claims that it’ll shatter the game, another says that bringing this feature at this stage of the game isn’t worth it because the player base is too low. But… it’s VALORANT. This game is not going anywhere for a long period. We didn’t have this custom game mode everyone was begging for for the longest time, and now that it’s added, it is such a relief.
There seems to be confusion concerning that topic as well. There are some queries about whether it will function in custom games, which is a pertinent question since that is where the scrims take place. There’s a faction questioning why it’s being released first on competitive and not all at once to all the other modes. And then of course the console users are either waiting patiently or impatiently (I’m not sure which).
What’s most notable is the division of opinion in the community. Some are “FINALLY” while others shout “meh, too late.” But the feature is revolutionary for anyone who plays VALORANT at a competitive level. This is the first time when players will be able to rewind the games, which means now they will be able to watch their teammates on multiple angles, analyze the game plan of the enemies, and evaluate their own gameplay which previously was unavailable.
And of course there’s the cheating issue to consider. One player remarked that they’ll finally be able to see how “closet cheaters” operate in their matches. Which… yes, that’s definitely going to happen. The replay system is going to expose a large number of suspicious gameplay activities that went under the radar.
Please also take note of this timing. Patch 11.06 is scheduled for release this month meaning, what, in a few weeks? This is one of the most requested features. Riot is also planning to release this alongside the Champions skins, so Riot really is delivering a lot with this update.
Other users in the thread are comparing it with other games’ replay features. Someone expressed their wish that it wouldn’t be like Fortnite’s initial replay system, which was… not great. But knowing Riot’s reputation, there’s a good chance it’ll be better than that. And someone else brought up CS’s system, which is like one of the few systems that has actually worked really well for review-based replays.
What makes the replies funny is the continuous arguing about VALORANT’s supposed death. The game has just announced a heavily anticipated feature and the game is far from dead. The esports and content creation ecosystem is at an all-time high. It’s not surprising to hear the game being declared “dead” is a bit of a stretch.
I’m most excited to try it personally. At last I will find out the spots where I fail, and all my terrible plays will be evaluated, so maybe there’s a chance for me to exit silver. Alright, I won’t hold my breath, but at least I can discover the reason why I’m stuck in silver! Also, content creators will have an absolute blast with this—new opportunities for montages, so many instructional videos to create, and the list keeps growing.
The details regarding implementation still seem a bit unclear. For instance, how far back can we rewind? Can we switch perspectives at will? What about controls for slow motion or frame-by-frame? These are the things that truly differentiate a replay system from a simple recording tool.
And what about file sizes? If entire matches are being saved, that would require serious storage after some time. Hopefully Riot has planned for compression or cloud storage. But these are probably things we will learn as the day nears launch.
The VALORANT experience is changing so much, is a given. No more relying on guesswork for the previous round, or hoping your shadowplay clip caught the important moment. It’s confirmed, full match replays are coming. And honestly, the wait has been way too long.
The response from the community is a blend of excitement, skepticism, and impatience. But the dominant emotion leans toward excitement. After years of anticipation, the community of VALORANT players is finally gaining access to a feature that had been requested for a very long time. The only thing left to do is just to hope that the feature works as expected when it rolls out later this month. Thankfully for some, the majority of users’ worries about the feature breaking the game are misplaced.
This is a quality of life feature that should have been there from launch, but I guess, better late than never, right? At least, we are getting it now. And who knows, maybe it will bring back those people who stopped playing since they hoped for better gameplay improvement tools. VALORANT fans have a reason to be excited in June, or should I call them players? Because we are entering the replay system era, and it will change a lot.
