Eight months after Sunset’s launch, a new VALORANT map is all set to be revealed in the year’s next international VCT event, as Riot Games indicated with an Easter egg in Episode Eight, Act Three’s poster.
Flaunted at the end of Act Three’s announcement trailer which was released on April 30, the poster features Omen, Clove, and Iso in front of a mysterious background, and announces the upcoming map’s reveal window—VALORANT Masters Shanghai. Of course, it didn’t take too long for players to start weaving together possible features of the new map based on the poster.
While Riot hasn’t indicated the poster is some sort of map teaser, players are surely taking it as one. “My guess is either underground or something with a lot of verticality – both would be EPIC,” one player tweeted, judging by the eerie and mystical backdrop. The poster may indicate a link between Omen, Iso, and Clove and the new location.
If you visit the Practice Range and play the voicemail Clove sent to Brimstone (Patch 8.07), they speak about a new Hourglass base they describe as a “secret cavern,” which perfectly fits a possible new map’s description. In fact, the poster’s backdrop seems to represent the insides of a cave, too. The map could also be based in China, considering Riot’s constant efforts to represent the country in VALORANT—and the fact that it’s being revealed at VCT Masters Shanghai supports the theory. Then again, this is all speculation and should be taken with a grain of salt.
VCT Masters Shanghai starts on May 23, but Riot will likely reveal the map at the tournament’s finals. So you may have to wait until June 9 for its first glimpse.
Riot timed the announcement of a new map perfectly, considering how frustrated the community has been with VALORANT’s map pool as of Episode Eight, Act Two. In fact, players took every opportunity to call out Riot for ignoring their requests and adding “unnecessary” Viper nerfs instead of changing the map pool with the latest Patch 8.08.
Whether the new VALORANT map satisfies the community is a different issue entirely, but at least there’s new content on the horizon.
