VALORANT Maps: Riot Prioritizes In-House Content over Community-made Maps
The future of maps in VALORANT was discussed by design director Joe Ziegler in a recent Dev Diaries video. However, one fan-requested feature may not be making its way into the game.
While Riot acknowledges the value of community-made maps, Ziegler stated that the team’s time and focus are better spent on creating other content. Building a platform for community sharing and providing map-making tools would require years of development, which doesn’t align with their current priorities.
Riot’s main goal is to integrate new maps into the VALORANT ecosystem, especially considering the growing professional scene. Creating their own maps allows the developers to ensure that they are in line with the game’s overall theme and can be balanced quickly.
Although this news may disappoint some fans, Riot remains committed to adding more maps to increase competitive variety. Currently, the fifth map, Icebox, has been added to the rotation, but Ziegler believes that a few more maps would provide a better map diversity.
While community-made maps may not be on the immediate horizon, Ziegler didn’t completely rule out their inclusion in the future. The developers constantly discuss this possibility, so it may still become a reality down the line.