In what year did development of Valorant begin?

Development of Valorant began in 2014. Riot Games started the project inside its research-and-development division, years before the public saw the game or knew its final name.

The project was later teased in 2019 under the codename Project A. Riot designed it as a competitive tactical shooter that combined precise gunplay with character abilities, drawing inspiration from games such as Counter-Strike while aiming to make the genre more approachable.

The long development period also allowed Riot to build the game around esports performance, anti-cheat technology, server stability, and a large cast of distinct Agents. Valorant entered closed beta on April 7, 2020, and launched for Windows on June 2, 2020.

A common mix-up is confusing the development date with the announcement or release date. 2019 was the Project A reveal, while 2020 was the launch year—not the beginning of development.