Valorant’s new Operators for 2023 look promising, as Riot outlines a new starter and room coming to FPS gaming this year. Most intriguing, however, is a hint that a whole new class of Valorant characters could be on the way, hopefully introducing entirely new mechanics, gameplay, and niches alongside the rest of Valorant’s already stellar lineup. Valorant. The news comes as we stuffed ourselves with goodies and skins during the last Valorant Night Market, so it’s already looking like a good year.
Valorant’s newest agent, Harbor, arrived in October and joined Astra, Omen, and Viper as one of the best controllers in multiplayer gaming. We still don’t know when Agent 22 will arrive, but Riot has offered up some fascinating teases about what’s to come throughout 2023. Reflecting on Valorant’s brief history, Riot Games Character Producer John “Mememememe Goscicki describes the process of introducing a new fighter.
“After two and a half years of Valorant being a live game, we found a good rhythm between creating new operators and keeping the game live,” says Goscicki. “Creating new agents keeps the game fresh. New gameplay has been introduced, new ways to learn the game, as well as new themed areas to explore and fall in love with.
“That being said, it takes a long time to create a new agent, so we always think about the current state of the game and the future of the game when we introduce one.”
Goscicki then outlines what to expect in terms of Valorant courses in 2023, offering a cryptic conundrum at the end.
“In 2023, we’ll be releasing three new Agents, an Initiator, a Sentinel, and then finally… we’re not going to reveal it yet. We’ll have to wait until later in the year to find out.”
Well. It’s not too silly to think there’s a new Valorant class on the way, is it? It seems pretty definitive. As to what this class might be, we can only speculate. We have Controllers to dominate the map, Duelists to attack, Initiators to support, and Wards to defend.
Maybe we could get a stealth-based stealth class, someone who can disguise themselves as an enemy to infiltrate the rear. It could definitely add some interesting dynamics. But we’ll let Riot find out.
In the meantime, grab the best Valorant litter if you want to stay on top of Valorant’s competitive leaderboard. You’ll also want to check your current principal against Valorant’s tier list, to make sure you’re picking the right agent for the job.