VALORANT’s upcoming Icebox changes have seemingly leaked

With a new episode on the horizon, VALORANT players are eagerly awaiting the latest changes for some of the maps in the game’s upcoming patch—including some leaked changes to Icebox that could shift its meta for the new year.

According to a new leak from data miners, most of the changes will be taking place in mid and around the run-up to B Site. For example, in Attacker Side Spawn, players will seemingly no longer be able to peek toward mid from the back of spawn due to the addition of a new box that is blocking the extended sight line, which will prompt players to push out a bit further for more information.

Around B Green, one of the massive shipping containers has been lifted from the ground, creating more space for attackers and defenders to maneuver, while also taking away a popular spot for agents to teleport to or fly up on. There are, however, two changes that could transform mid into an important area of contention for early trades and firefights.

In B Tube, for example, there is now a window that allows defending players to peek out into mid, creating a new sightline for any snipers to hold as they fend off an oncoming push by the enemy team. Inside the tube, there is a new stack of boxes that should also give defenders another place to hide while holding off enemies from Window so they aren’t immediately taken out by rushing attackers who run up mid.

Finally, B Orange and B Snow Pile have been revamped, with the outdoor pathway that runs alongside B Hall being completely removed. Now, there is only one way to reach B through mid: You’ll either run through B Orange or B Kitchen. Overall, it should be easier to defend B since there are better angles to keep tabs on attacking players, along with one extra pathway being removed for less complicated rotations.

Icebox will be rejoining the current competitive map rotation for VALORANT Episode Eight, which will be dropping on Tuesday, Jan. 9. These changes will be taking place alongside the tweaks to Lotus, which has also been given a ton of depth and new angles that both attackers and defenders will need to worry about when the new patch is released.