Something was dropped for the 5-year anniversary celebration, and people aren’t really celebrating. The VALORANTLeaksEN account posted a tweet flaunting the new in-game flex-an ironic cosmetic-if we may call it-so celebrate the fifth year of the game. Responses are filled with confusion, disappointment, and harsh ridicule.
What is the concept? It is just an empty cake floating in the air. Well, kind of cute. But the players wanted more; for example, an animation in which an agent would eat a slice of pie or blow out candles. Instead, it just sits there, hard and static.
@Gbaptistaa0 spit out what he thought the devs thought: “Hey, we can make a special animation for our 5th year flex, maybe eat a piece or blow out the candle.” “Nah, they will not pay for it, just make a regular animation.” And really? It actually sums up the feeling pretty well. Gamers wanted it interactive, not just another cosmetic to look at.
The pricing debate quickly cascaded in. Lots of replies questioned whether it was free, with @k1chie and @impiecka demanding an answer. Others burned the earth, such as @blacklist_01: “Flex is hot garbage. Only first-world Americans with disposable income of minimum 10 million dollars are going to spend on this crap. Or you’re a streamer.”
Some did, though, enjoy it. One user @WatashiWaShinon simply stated, “I love it,” while @bleach_streaks reminisced about their first-year banner. Still, the vibe forward is mainly “Why does this exist?” while players beg on all fours for some content, like the Champions Bundle skins making return (@greywindhere), or, less cheating (@kumivl).
And let it not be left unnoticed-that chaos in the replies. @_024___ hit up @marieannfred1 with: “Amk patatesi ofc u want to take a bite out of it” (translation: “Dude, it’s a potato, of course you wanna take a bite”), honestly? Mood. Meanwhile, @ItsDANYGEN was joking about the cake getting in the way of his diet, and @1crocnocrak just wanted to “take a bite or smth similar.”
And so, from a semi-complicated mess came a mess with taste.
Did trying to find a golden opportunity just completely fail by undertaking this flex? Five years is a massive milestone, and players wanted bigger with the floating dessert. Perhaps next time Riot will let us bake the cake. Or make the cake interact in some way. The discussion goes on because, if VALORANT players love anything aside from the game, it’s complaining about it.
So, yeah, happy anniversary, VALORANT. Here’s to five more years of… whatever this is.
