Valorant Removes a Fan-Favorite Map, Brings Back Another in Upcoming Map Rotation

In a recent blog post from Riot Games, Joe Lansford from the Valorant Maps Team delivered an update on the upcoming map pool rotation that’ll have some players, like myself, feeling bittersweet. In order to maintain a six to seven map pool for Unranked and Competitive modes, the game will see the removal of two maps in a future patch, while reintroducing a long-awaited map back into the mix. It doesn’t quite ruin the holidays completely, but it sure feels like we got more coal than presents this year.

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Valorant – Split Returns, Bind and Breeze Depart

Patch 6.0 is set to arrive in early January 2023, and marks the beginning of Valorant’s next map rotation. Along with the usual balance changes and bug fixes, here’s what you can expect the map pool to look like:

The Return of Split

The fan-favorite Split returns in the January update, no doubt to the delight of many players. Split was removed from the map pool earlier this year to undergo some tweaks while making room for Valorant’s newest map, Pearl. It seems that players were right to assume its return was drawing near, as Riot teased the map through unrelated skin trailers in October. Lansford states that Split will return with a few changes but is holding off on details until the 6.0 patch notes.

Goodbye to Bind and Breeze

Bind and Breeze will be removed from Unranked and Competitive queues with no return date in sight, though they’ll still be available in Spike Rush, custom games, and other game modes.

Lansford states that Breeze “…has some room to improve in terms of Agents and team comp diversity, as well as some opportunities for simplification of the space.” Which makes sense, as the map tends to favor long-range duels for the majority of its layout.

As for Bind, the team says that it’s “mostly about strategic diversity” and that they’d like to take a look at how teams execute and defend both sites while opening up more teleporter opportunities.

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Valorant’s 2023 Map Pool

Beginning on the release of Patch 6.0 in January, it looks like the following maps will be in the Unranked and Competitive rotation:

• Haven
• Split
• Ascent
• Icebox
• Fracture
• Pearl

One less map than the seven-map pool they strive to maintain. Could this mean we’ll see a brand new map introduced in the upcoming patch? We’ll keep you updated as we learn more.

For more information on Valorant, check out our other guides here at Prima Games.