Valoranthas seen new content over the past few months that some fans have taken issue with. One of the largest issues came in the form ofValorant’s newest map Icebox, which a vocal group of the playerbase dislikes.
Now, it seems like those who dislike Icebox may not be happy with the future ofValorant’s map design. In a recent Dev Diary video,ValorantDesign Director Joe Ziegler confirms that futureValorantmaps will follow the footsteps laid out by the controversial Icebox map.
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For those who haven’t been followingValorant, the design of itslatest map has caused a stir among players. There are plenty of players who feel positive or neutral about Icebox, but a vocal group ofplayers want Icebox removed fromValorantdue to the abundance of angles that players have to clear, and the number of vertical vantage points around the map. Yet, it seems likeValorant’s design team enjoys the direction that Icebox took, and future maps might follow a similar blueprint.
The officialValorantYouTube channel released its Dev Diary video focusing on the future ofValorant’s maps today. Ziegler speaks about a variety of topics including Icebox,adding new maps toValorant, and the future ofValorant’s map design. He said the four original maps were meant to introduce players toValorant’s play style. However, Ziegler goes on to say that, “Moving forward, I hope you can see how we’ll continue challenging the basic concepts of map design in order to promote more diverse, strategic play.”
Ziegler goes on to explain how Icebox does just that, with a design resulting in skirmishes that require “sharper aim and quicker decision making to win.” It sounds likeValorant’s team is pleased with how Icebox turned out, despite a vocal group ofValorant’s players calling for its removal. Though seeing Icebox’s removal from the game doesn’t seem like a reality,Valorant’s development team may still listen tochanges fans wants to see inValorantmaps going forward.
Ziegler also takes time to mention another important aspect ofValorant’s map choice. He confirmed thatValorantwon’t support community-made mapsfor quite some time, mentioning that a feature like that would take “years of development time” to implement into the game. While those who strongly dislike Icebox may feel upset by this news, players who enjoy what Icebox’s design brings toValoranthave a lot to potentially look forward to.
