VALORANT takes place on a future version of Earth—well, technically two versions of Earth—where cities and landmarks have become battlegrounds. The presence of a precious substance known as radianite across the world has caused these spots to become hotbeds for conflict.
Each of the maps in VALORANT is inspired by a real life location, with some maps being located in the middle of a major city and others in completely remote locations. Conveniently, all of VALORANT’s maps have coordinates attached to them on the loading screen, so you can pinpoint exactly where these maps are.
Here are all of the real-world locations for VALORANT’s primary maps.
Ascent: Venice, Italy
Ascent was the first map added to VALORANT following its launch in June 2020. The map is located in Venice, Italy, with landmarks from the city including the Basilica of St. Mark (top right in the image above), as well as the Campanile of St. Mark (the big red tower) visible in both the map’s loading screen and in-game.
Coordinates: 45°26’15” N, 12°20’9″ E
Bind: Rabat, Morocco
Bind is located in the country of Morocco, and the map serves as the former hometown of Cypher. On some occasions, Cypher will remark on the current condition of Bind, and how Kingdom, a radianite-focused corporation in the VALORANT lore, has let his home fall into ruin.
Coordinates: 34°2’0″ N, 6°51’0″ W
Breeze: The Bermuda Triangle
Breeze is the closest VALORANT map to the “middle of nowhere,” but geographically it’s closest to the Bermuda Triangle. The Bermuda Triangle is a legendary section of the Atlantic Ocean above the Caribbean, known for a number of both explained and unexplainable disappearances over the past century.
Coordinates: 26°11’06” N, 71°10’31” W
Fracture: Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S.A.
In the VALORANT lore, Fracture is the site of a radianite facility where an experiment went horribly wrong. The botched experiment split the area directly down the middle, causing a literal “fracture” down the middle of the map. It is built into the canyons outside Santa Fe.
Coordinates: 35°48’18” N, 106°08’19” W
Haven: Thimphu, Bhutan
Haven is a three-site map that takes place within a large temple in Bhutan’s capital city of Thimphu. In the real world, those coordinates are home to a small street with a gas station and running track alongside it.
Coordinates: 27°28’0″ N, 89°38’30” E
Icebox: Bennett Island, Russia
Icebox is located off the coast of Bennett Island, a remote location near Siberia. According to Google, this island is located north of both the East Siberian Sea and the Laptev Sea, and touches the Arctic Ocean.
Coordinates: 76°44’0″ N, 149°30’0″ E
Pearl: Lisbon, Portugal
Pearl is the first VALORANT map to exist on “Omega Earth,” an alternate version of the planet. Kingdom Industries was able to save some of Lisbon by encasing it in this dome to protect it from climate change-caused flooding. The flooded ruins of the larger city can be seen outside the dome.
Coordinates: 38°42’43″N, 9°08’27″W
Split: Tokyo, Japan
The map’s iconic ziplines and skyscrapers make sense considering the coordinates would place Split at one of the most vertically imposing places in the city: the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. The building is the third-tallest in Japan and likely serves as the inspiration for Split’s iconic skyscraper just behind A site.
Coordinates: 35°41’23” N, 139°41’32” E
Sunset: Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Sunset was directly inspired by Los Angeles, with coordinates that place it roughly in the neighborhood of Boyle Heights. Sunset features graffiti from LA artists, and features the same type of architecture as well as the traditional golden hour glow.
Coordinates: 34°2’2″ N, 118°12’16” W
Published: Dec 18, 2023 11:30 am