The Valorant beta is set to begin early next month. If you want to try out the new Counter-Strike and Overwatch inspired shooter from Riot Games while it's still in the closed testing phase, you'll need to jump through a few hoops first.
The Valorant beta will begin on April 7 at 6am PDT / 1 pm BST. The first step to signing up is making sure you have an active Riot account (if you play League of Legends, you're all set there). The second is to link your Riot account up with your Twitch account. The third is to wait for folks to start streaming it on Twitch, then watch the streams that Riot picks to award beta access. I remember back when signing up for a beta meant filling out a form and submitting a DXDiag file…
The Valorant closed beta will be available in Canada, Europe, Russia, Turkey, and the U.S. at first, and the number of players Riot Games lets in at any given point will be based on server capacity. The studio plans to start small and ramp up, so don't be discouraged if you aren't able to start playing with the first wave.
While your progress in the Valorant beta won't carry over to the full version, you will still be able to buy Valorant points to spend on in-game items like skins. Once the beta is over, Riot will return all the points you purchased to your account with another 20 percent on top as a thank you for buying in early.
Find even more games to keep you busy during self-isolation with our guide to the best free games.
