VALORANT’s seasonal model runs with yearly Seasons, each featuring six Acts. Every VALORANT Act comes with a significant update, offering new content like agents, maps, and modes, as well as balance and visual updates.
To help you keep track, here are the start and end dates of all VALORANT Episodes, Seasons, and Acts so far.
Quick summary
- New Seasons and Acts are usually the torchbearers of VALORANT’s biggest updates each year, keeping the meta fresh and exciting.
- VALORANT is currently in Season V26, Act Five.
- Season V26 Act Five runs until Oct. 13.
All VALORANT Act start and end dates
All VALORANT Seasons and Acts (2025-present)
| Seasons and Acts | Start date | End date | Major changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season V25, Act one | Jan. 7, 2025 | March 5, 2025 | New agent: Tejo, New cosmetic type: Flex, other agent and feature changes |
| Season V25, Act two | March 5, 2025 | April 30, 2025 | New agent: Waylay |
| Season V25, Act three | April 30, 2025 | June 25, 2025 | New features: Gifting system, Ranked Gun buddy, various agent changes, and game updates |
| Season V25, Act four | June 25, 2025 | Aug. 20, 2025 | New map: Corrode, agent and map pool changes, hard rank reset, new features, and general game and UI updates |
| Season V25, Act five | Aug. 20, 2025 | Oct. 15, 2025 | Map pool changes, agent and feature tweaks, bug fixes; New agent: Veto and New game mode: Skirmish in surprise patch 11.07b |
| Season V25, Act six | Oct. 15, 2025 | Jan. 7, 2026 | Map pool changes, major agent changes across all roles, Rank Manipulation report feature, Harbor rework, and more |
| Season V26, Act one | Jan. 7, 2026 | March 18, 2026 | New weapon: Bandit; New mode: All Random One Site |
| Season V26, Act Two | March 18, 2026 | April 29, 2026 | New agent: Miks; New mode: Knockout |
| Season V26, Act Three | April 29, 2026 | June 22, 2026 | New mode: Skirmish: Ascension |
| Season V26, Act Four | June 22, 2026 | Aug. 18, 2026 | New map: Summit |
| Season V26, Act Five | Aug. 18, 2026 | Oct. 13, 2026 | Map pool changes and bug fixes |
All VALORANT Episodes and Acts (2020 to 2024)
| Episodes and Acts | Start date | End date | Major changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Episode One: IGNITION | |||
| Episode One, Act One | June 2, 2020 | Aug. 13, 2020 | New agent: Reyna, New modes: Competitive and Spike Rush, New map: Ascent |
| Episode One, Act Two | Aug. 4, 2020 | Oct. 13, 2020 | New agent: Killjoy, New mode: Deathmatch |
| Episode One, Act Three | Oct. 13, 2020 | Jan. 12, 2021 | New agent: Skye, New map: Icebox, New mode: Snowball Fight, First Night Market |
| Episode Two: FORMATION | |||
| Episode Two, Act One | Jan. 12, 2021 | March 2, 2021 | New agent: Yoru, New mode: Escalation |
| Episode Two, Act Two | March 2, 2021 | April 27, 2021 | New agent: Astra |
| Episode Two, Act Two | April 27, 2021 | June 22, 2021 | New map: Breeze, New mode: Replication |
| Episode Three: REFLECTION | |||
| Episode Three, Act One | June 22, 2021 | Sept. 8, 2021 | New agent: KAY/O |
| Episode Three, Act Two | Sept. 8, 2021 | Nov. 2, 2021 | New map: Fracture |
| Episode Three, Act Three | Nov. 2, 2021 | Jan. 11, 2022 | New agent: Chamber |
| Episode Four: DISRUPTION | |||
| Episode Four, Act One | Jan. 11, 2022 | March 1, 2022 | New agent: Neon |
| Episode Four, Act Two | March 1, 2022 | April 27, 2022 | Major agent rework: Yoru |
| Episode Four, Act Three | April 27, 2022 | June 22, 2022 | New agent: Fade |
| Episode Five: DIMENSION | |||
| Episode Five, Act One | June 22, 2022 | Aug. 23, 2022 | New map: Pearl, Competitive map rotations |
| Episode Five, Act Two | Aug. 23, 2022 | Oct. 17, 2022 | Major agent, weapon, and map changes, Minor changes throughout |
| Episode Five, Act Three | Oct. 17, 2022 | Jan. 10, 2023 | New agent: Harbor, Huge agent changes |
| Episode Six: REVELATION | |||
| Episode Six, Act One | Jan. 10, 2023 | March 6, 2023 | New map: Lotus |
| Episode Six, Act Two | March 6, 2023 | April 25, 2023 | New agent: Gekko |
| Episode Six, Act Three | April 25, 2023 | June 26, 2023 | Map rotation and agent changes |
| Episode Seven: EVOLUTION | |||
| Episode Seven, Act One | June 27, 2023 | Aug. 29, 2023 | New agent: Deadlock, New mode: Team Deathmatch, New mode: Premier |
| Episode Seven, Act Two | Aug. 29, 2023 | Oct. 31, 2023 | New map: Sunset, various agent and map updates |
| Episode Seven, Act Three | Oct. 31, 2023 | Jan. 9, 2024 | New agent: Iso, New Team Deathmatch map: Drift |
| Episode Eight: DEFIANCE | |||
| Episode Eight, Act One | Jan. 9, 2024 | March 5, 2024 | New weapon: Outlaw, major agent and map rotation updates |
| Episode Eight, Act Two | March 5, 2024 | April 30, 2024 | New agent: Clove |
| Episode Eight, Act Three | April 30, 2024 | June 25, 2024 | New map: Abyss |
| Episode Nine: COLLISION | |||
| Episode Nine, Act One | June 25, 2024 | Aug. 28, 2024 | VALORANT console release, agent, mode, and map updates |
| Episode Nine, Act Two | Aug. 28, 2024 | Oct. 23, 2024 | New agent: Vyse, Competitive mode releases on console |
| Episode Nine, Act Three | Oct. 23, 2024 | Jan. 7, 2025 | New Team Deathmatch map: Glitch, various agent and feature updates |
How Seasons and Acts work in VALORANT
Starting in 2025, VALORANT transitioned to a new seasonal format, featuring a year-long Season that comprises six Acts, each lasting two months. Previously, “Episodes” ran for six months with three two-month Acts. Everything is essentially the same with the new Season system, but players can now enjoy a seamless yearly transition instead of a major “Episode” switch every six months.
New Acts typically introduce significant changes, including new agents, maps, or adjustments to existing features. The biggest changes of a Season, however, drop every three Acts (previously marked by new Episodes). This design gives players enough time to enjoy the additions without overloading them with too much new content at once, keeping the meta fresh and fun.
When is the next VALORANT Act?
VALORANT Season V26 Act Six is kicking off on Oct. 13. For APAC and EMEA regions, however, Act Six will go live in the early hours of Oct. 14. The dates may shift if Riot runs into an unexpected hiccup, but the chances of that happening are quite low.
On the day the new Act’s scheduled to commence, the game servers will be taken down for maintenance, which may run for a couple of hours. After maintenance is over, you should see a pending update in the Riot Client app once it ends. Download it and launch VALORANT to start experiencing the new Act. You can turn on automatic updates from the Riot Client settings if you don’t want to keep track of these patches manually.
Based on old release times, it’s possible to predict when the update for VALORANT Season V26, Act Six goes live, according to your region. Mark the following times:
- North America, LATAM, Brazil: Oct. 13 between 8am and 1pm CT.
- Korea, Asia-Pacific: Oct. 14 between 6am and 8am KST.
- EMEA: Oct. 14 between 2am and 5am UTC.
These timings aren’t confirmed and are subject to change based on the update’s size or if Riot changes its plans.
FAQ
Does VALORANT still have Episodes?
VALORANT doesn’t have Episodes anymore. It now has yearly seasons with six Acts.
How long is one VALORANT Act?
One VALORANT Act lasts around two months.
What new content comes with a new VALORANT Act?
A new VALORANT Act usually includes a new Agent, map, or game mode.
