July 2025 — Riot Games has officially rolled out the long-awaited Unreal Engine 5 (UE5) upgrade for Valorant on international servers. While this is a major technical leap under the hood, many players might find the update surprisingly subtle—at least on the surface. In this report, we break down the real changes brought by UE5, including performance shifts, FPS benchmarks, loading time improvements, and reduced game size.
▍Free Gun Buddy Reward
After updating, all players receive a free gun buddy as a commemoration for the UE5 rollout. The design is fairly standard and on par with Battle Pass cosmetic quality—not flashy, but a symbolic gesture nonetheless.
Visually, Valorant looks almost identical to the previous UE4 version. From textures and lighting to character models and UI, there are virtually no changes in graphical fidelity or style. Even the graphics settings menu remains the same, with no new advanced lighting or rendering options added.
▍Skin Upgrade UI Refined, Still the Same Art Style
One of the few noticeable front-end changes lies in the weapon skin upgrade interface. The new UI layout is cleaner, more intuitive, and easier to navigate. However, core lobby visuals, map assets, and menu systems remain largely untouched.
▍Performance Benchmarks: Up to 900 FPS on High-End Systems
To evaluate the real impact of the engine switch, we conducted comparative tests on the Lotus map before and after the UE5 patch. On a high-end desktop, frame rates during warm-up consistently reached 900 FPS, with an average boost of about 100 FPS compared to the previous version. On mid-to-low-end laptops, performance improved by around 5% to 10%, especially in low-demand scenes.
Interestingly, CPU usage was slightly higher in UE5, while GPU load decreased marginally, suggesting that Valorant now leverages more CPU processing for rendering tasks—potentially paving the way for future CPU-based optimizations.
▍Faster Map Loading Times
We ran over 30 Deathmatch sessions on Lotus to test loading efficiency. UE5 clearly offers faster map initialization times, shaving off several seconds when compared to UE4. While not dramatic, it contributes to a smoother match-start experience and reduced downtime for active players.
▍20GB+ Update Cuts Game Size in Half
Although the UE5 patch weighs in at over 20GB, the tradeoff is absolutely worth it: the total install size of Valorant is now approximately 24GB, down from nearly 50GB before. This massive reduction will benefit players with limited SSD storage and streamline future updates and backups.
▍Gameplay Feel Remains Intact, Minor Bugs on Live Servers
In terms of gameplay mechanics, the core feel of movement, shooting, and abilities remains unchanged. Competitive flow is preserved, and most players will feel instantly at home.
That said, some players have reported packet loss and micro stutters on servers since the update. These may be due to new engine-server interactions and are likely to be patched in upcoming hotfixes.
▍Conclusion
While UE5 doesn’t bring visual overhauls or new content just yet, its backend improvements are meaningful:
- Small but consistent FPS gains
- Faster map load times
- Massive reduction in storage footprint
- Stable gameplay feel
- Stronger backend for future upgrades
Riot has also mentioned that this update lays the groundwork for future visual, performance, and content enhancements. This is less a showy update, and more a technical investment in long-term scalability.
Players are encouraged to install the patch, log in to receive the free reward, and enjoy smoother sessions. For detailed patch notes, check the Valorant official website’s 11.2 update announcement.
Need more valorant vp for those amazing skins? TOPUPlive offers a safe and discounted way to top up valorant vp! Enjoy:
✅ Official partner with secure transactions
✅ Exclusive discounts on VP packages
✅ Instant delivery to your account
✅ 24/7 customer support
Visit TOPUPlive today and upgrade your gaming experience!
