The hype is real for Riot Games’ maiden venture into the first-person shooter realm, Valorant. Fans from all over the world are keeping a close eye on Valorant’s teasers ahead of its Summer 2020 release.

Many tipped the tactical shooter to be the perfect blend of Overwatch and Counter Strike:Global Offensive. Now, fans are a step closer to getting their hands on the game, as developers, Riot, announced the closed beta.

Valorant’s closed beta is set to go live on April 7, 2020. So, players will have just over a week from Riot’s announcement to prepare themselves for the grind.

In terms of the beta’s duration, the company is aiming at keeping the closed beta as short as possible. Meanwhile, Riot Games will try and getting additional regions online.

With that in mind, the League of Legends developers stated their willingness to listen to “unexpected feedback” from players during this period. If/when that happens, they will re-evaluate the game and fix any niggling issues.

Given the inherent logistical strains that come with the ongoing global health situation, Riot is rolling out their closed beta to a set number of regions.

Where can people play Valorant?

The regions that will have access to Valorant’s closed beta are: Canada, Europe, Russia, Turkey, and the United States.

However, fear not, as Riot has pledged to try and get more regions online, “pending the volatile logistics of launching a beta effectively during a global pandemic.”

Riot will be providing fans with an opportunity to play the Valorant beta by tuning into selected Twitch streams.

Once fans link their Riot and Twitch accounts, all they’ll need to do is tune into specific Valorant streams. For a full breakdown on how to get early access to Valorant, check out our ‘how to play’ guide.

Discussing the closed beta launch in a press release, Anna Donlon stated: “Our plan was to bring the Valorant closed beta to as many players around the world as quickly as possible, but the pandemic has impacted those plans, compromising a wider global rollout.”

“For now, we have to focus on the regions where we feel most ready, with more regions following in the months to come.”