The VALORANT community is buzzing after Riot Games unveiled Pearl as the newest addition to the game’s expanding list of maps. But not everyone knows where this underwater paradise is situated.
First off, Pearl is the first VALORANT map to take place on Omega Earth, an alternate universe version of Earth. This alternate Earth is the only other version known that has the capabilities to travel between universes with an Alpha-Omega teleporter.
In terms of location, however, the answer is a bit trickier to pin down. When reading the descriptions of Pearl, there isn’t a specific place named. Instead, Riot says that in a world “on the brink of total climate collapse,” Kingdom Industries helped create an entire city encased in a dome at the bottom of the sea.
With a Portuguese-speaking narrator in the trailer, a ton of Portuguese-themed art and murals, and more, people have connected the dots with various in-game teasers that lead us to the vibrant and beautiful country of Portugal. For example, in the League of Legends Arcane in-browser visual novel, a set of coordinates could be seen on a support beam in Killjoy’s lab. This set of coordinates points to an area of water just off the coast of Lisbon, Portugal, which would make sense because the new map is set in an underwater city.
In the first cinematic of the year, “WARM UP,” there is also a map of Lisbon hidden in a couple of scenes, like in the background at the 2:49 mark of the video behind Raze. A player card in the current battle pass also features the Lisbon Tram underwater, which is a direct hint at the new map as well.
All of these aspects point toward Pearl taking place in Lisbon, Portugal. But Riot hasn’t given any specifics about the location of the new map just yet.
