Valorant Players Think New Map Will Be in South Korea

Valoranthas been teasing something new this month, and players think it will be a new map located in South Korea. This will be the game’s ninth map, withthe latest being Pearl, which was released last year.

Since the start of 2023,Valoranthas posted a series of short videos on social media featuring the agents seemingly exploring a new location, along with “.JAN // .05 // .2023” in the caption. The date is the launch of the upcomingValorantEpisode 6 cinematic titled “Revelation,” and based on past episodes, there’s always a big reveal, such as a new map and/or agent. Well-known leaker @ValorLeaks suggested thatValorant’s latest posts are hinting at the former, which will be revealed in the Episode 6 cinematic and launched on January 10.

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After seeingValorant’s posts the past few days, players started speculating that the next map will be in South Korea. This theory began when they heard K-pop playing in the video featuring Fade, which was later confirmed to be a song by K-pop singer and streamerJae Park (also known as eaJ). While there are still limited information about the map’s name and what it will look like, Riot Games developer Joe Lansford said back in December that it will have a “new mechanic.”

AllValorantmaps are located in different cities and countries, which are mostly where the agents come from. For example, Split is set in a futuristic version of Yoru’s home country of Japan, whileBind is set in a Moroccan desert, where Cypher is from. If the new map will indeed be in South Korea, it will most likely be a reference to Jett’s origins. It also wouldn’t be surprising for fans if a Korean map joins the pool as South Korea is a bigValorantesports region.

A newValorantmap could mean a shift to the game’s meta, which is a great thing for both casual and professional players who are looking for fresh strategies in their gameplay. Of course, there might also be people who won’t like playing the new map, either because it will be unfamiliar territory or they won’t like the overall design—these were also the initial reactions toFractureand Pearl when they launched. It’s also a good time to add a new location, especially now that Bind and Breeze are out ofValorant’s Unrated and Competitive map pool.