Riot Games have been leaving teasers here and there ever since the release of Fracture. So what, when, and where is exactly the new Valorant map?
Tons of teasers came beforehand, then the new agent Fade was released. So now we're starting to see a trend by Riot Games with teasers about the new map in Valorant dating back to Fracture's release. They all lead to the same conclusion: the new map in Valorant will be located in Lisbon, Portugal. So let's take a look at everything we know about the new Valorant map in Portugal!
New Valorant Map Leaks: Portugal
The first teaser leading to the new Valorant map being in Portugal was in a form of Valorant lore emails dropped on Fracture. Riot Games confirmed that these emails were connected to the 8th Valorant map. To understand these, just know that there are 2 scientists Ruben and Oran. Ruben is from Mirror Earth while Oran is from our Earth. These emails below are directed toward Ruben. They firstly mention Ruben's Mirror Earth containing a city-wide geo-dome with a "tidal forecast". Keep this in mind as it'll be important going forwards.
The second "Test Results" email shows checkups before travel. Players were quick to discover a board on Fracture showing a train station's departures. And wouldn't you know: the next train leaves for Lisbon, Portugal. So Ruben is headed towards Lisbon in Mirror Earth!
Another leak for the new map in Valorant was found by a data miner. Hidden in the files for the RiotX Arcane bundle was a texture showing coordinates. And these coordinates lead directly to Lisbon, Portugal.
A map teaser?! #VALORANT #RiotXArcane A VALORANT themed texture sheet in RiotX Arcane contains a set of coordinates which potentially hint at the location of the next mapLisbon, Portugal"" 38o 42' N 9o 8' W " pic.twitter.com/NCeUfYaFx5
— Disturbo (@NotToDisturb) November 2, 2021
All of these leaks and teasers aren't a coincidence. If you're familiar with Valorant's lore, then you'd know our agents are building a portal to Mirror Earth. This was shown on the home screen with Neon powering the portal. Well, in the latest Episode 4 Act 3, the home screen changed to an animation of the portal getting functional. And Pontes was traveling to Mirror Earth too. But the latest teaser that dropped about the new map being in Lisbon Portugal came in the form of a Battle Pass player card.
"Yellows On Rails" Card | 4.08 You see who I'm seeing? Oran and Ruben on the Electrico 27 Tram in Lisbon, Portugal... on Omega Earth. Kingdom Industries logo right below them!| #VALORANT pic.twitter.com/dKWJJ4KuZG
— Cynprel - VALORANT Lore (@cynprel) April 24, 2022
The displayed logo on the tram is of the Kingdom Industries located in Mirror Earth. Remember the geo-dome and tidal forecast? The tram is in an underwater city covered by a dome. The tram is an actual route in Lisbon, Portugal. So this concludes all the leaks and teasers for the new map's location being underwater in Mirror Earth's Lisbon, Portugal. So when can we expect the new map to hit Valorant?
New Map Release Date Valorant
The new Valorant map might be closer than we think. Take this with a grain of salt. As of this moment, nothing's been officially approved by Riot Games. But we can speculate, given the circumstances: every Valorant Episode we've been getting a new map. In Episode 1, we got Icebox, in Episode 2, we got Breeze, and in Episode 3, we got Fracture. The only Episode missing a map is Episode 4.
The time difference between the previous maps is around 5-6 months, with the next map in Portugal taking the longest to release. So it's safe to assume the new map will release in Episode 5 Act 1 or Act 2.
From all the Valorant maps, let's hope the next one won't be a disaster like Fracture. Riot Games have been adding interesting features with each map from ziplines to doors, so imagine if we get to swim in the new map in Portugal!