Despite plans to focus on the PC version of VALORANT, Riot Games seems to have already added functionality that makes the game playable on some tablets with a touchscreen control layout.
One Reddit user tested playing the new FPS game in tablet mode on their laptop, which resulted in a fully playable experience featuring touchscreen icons and controls for each option.
Almost every icon used in the screenshot for the tablet controls match up with images found by dataminers in the game’s files, with the odd exception to Phoenix’s unique abilities. The original images found by Ricky “Fire Monkey” Owens covered all of the basics for movement, display, and overall look, and they appear to be fully implemented in the game already.
This doesn’t mean much since VALORANT is still in its closed beta and will not be fully released until later this year, but this does point to at least some non-traditional platforms being able to play the game in some form. Tablets are a big market, but if the game itself is not available on iOS or Android, then devices like the iPad won’t be able to play it barring some sort of casting from PC to those platforms.
But it doesn’t seem like anything beyond basic touchscreen support will be coming anytime soon as the developers work towards the full release.
“Our focus right now is on PC,” VALORANT lead designer Trevor Romleski said on TimTheTatman’s stream. “We’re open to exploring new opportunities for other platforms, but for the time being what our current focus is is on the PC platform.”
If Riot does decide to put VALORANT on consoles and mobile, the devs will need to put time into optimizing the matchmaking system, which can’t be done until they know how well it works on PC. Any chance of Valorant joining other markets is still a ways out from even the game’s PC launch.
