VALORANT players have been waiting for a new map since Riot Games released Fracutre in September 2021, and many were hoping that it would be added to the popular FPS in Episode 4, Act 3, but the game's latest update only added Fade, the new Turkish Initiator Agent, along with agent changes, bug fixes, and minor updates.
Riot has already revealed details about the 8th VALORANT map. Here's everything you need to know about the Pearl:
What's the name of the new VALORANT map?
Riot Games hasn't revealed the official name of the new VALORANT map, but according to ValorLeaks, its official name is Pearl.
The teaser shown above was released by Riot Games on June 13, and it gives us a closer look at what appears to be an area in Pearl.
Is there already a trailer for Pearl?
On June 16, Riot Games has released a trailer for the new VALORANT map, Pearl, which is directly inspired by Portuguese culture, and in some areas, authentically crafted by local artists.
Watch the trailer for the Pearl below:
What are the details about the new VALORANT map, Pearl?
Riot Games shared the following description for Pearl after the trailer was released:
"Attackers push down into the Defenders on this two-site map set in a vibrant, underwater city. Pearl is a geo-driven map with no mechanics to keep things a little more straightforward. Take the fight through a compact mid or the longer range wings in our first map set in Omega-Earth."
Contrary to rumors, the Pearl will only have two Spike sites instead of three.
What teasers for Pearl were revealed so far?
Currently, there are only seven maps in VALORANT: Split, Bind, Haven, Ascent, Icebox, Breeze, and Fracture. Since the lore of VALORANT is set in Earth, each of these maps are usually located in a familiar real-world country or region. Haven is set in Thimphu, Bhutan; Bind in Rabat, Morocco, and Split in Tokyo, Japan, etc., and now, the clues are saying that it will be set in Lisbon, Portugal, so let's take a look at the clues.
The first clue teasing the new VALORANT map being in Portugal was via VALORANT lore emails left on Fracture. Riot Games already confirmed that these messages are linked to the 8th VALORANT map.
Before we get into the emails, you should know that there are two scientists Oran and Ruben. Oran is from our Earth, while Ruben is from Mirror Earth.
The emails firstly mention that Ruben's Mirror Earth containing a city-wide geo-dome with a "tidal forecast"
The next "Test Results" email reveals checkups before travel. Players were quick to notice that Fracture has a board showing a train station's departures, and it shows that the next train leaves for Lisbon, portual, so it looks like Ruben is heading to Lisbon in Mirror Earth.
The home menu for Episode 4, Act 2, also shows Brimstone looking at hologram of what appears to be a new VALORANT map.
Data miner Disturbo unearthed another leak for the new VALORANT map. Hidden in the files for the RiotX Arcane bundle was a texture revealing coordinates, which lead directly to Lisbon, Portugal.
We have already seen the home menu of Neon powering the portal, and in the Episode 4, Act 3, the home menu features an animation of the portal being active. Pontes was also traveling to Mirror Earth, but the biggest teaser that dropped about the next map being set in Lisbon, Portugal was shown in the form of a Battle Pass player card.
As Cynprel pointed out on Twitter, the player card shows Ruben and Oran on the the Eléctrico 27 Tram in Lisbon, Portugal on Omega Earth:
The tram displays a logo of the Kingdom Industries, which is located in Mirror Earth. As the geo-dome and tidal forecast hints suggested, the tram is located in an underwater city covered by a dome, and the there's an actual tram route in Lisbon, Portugal.
With the latest 4.09 update, it looks like it's all coming together for the upcoming VALORANT map:
On May 19, Valorleaks pointed out the voicemail from Fade that reveals that she saw a "place of secrets" in the minds of Lisbon's people.
On May 23, Riot Games released new art on social media, teasing the next VALORANT map, which shows a huge aquarium that holds an octopous that looks like Omen.
"Something special's bubbling up in VALORANT. Get ready for Aquarium week," the posts read.
On May 24, Riot Games revealed the aquarium-themed Neptune weapon skin bundle, but it looks like more will be revealed for Aquarium week.
On June 9, Riot Games shared another teaser for what appears to be an underwater geo-dome VALORANT map with Portuguese message:
Now that the clues have told us that the 8th VALORANT map will be set in Lisbon, Portugal of Mirror Earth, when can we expect it to be added to the game?
When will the new VALORANT map set in Lisbon, Portugal be released?
As of the time of this writing, Riot Games has officially confirmed that Pearl will be added to VALORANT when Episode 5 Act 1 (Patch 5.0) launches on June 22, 2022.
There will be a Pearl-only unranked queue that will be available in the first two weeks for players to get familiar with the latest map, after which, it will enter Competitive rotation, and Split will exit.
We will update this article once more details about the new VALORANT map emerge, so follow Valorant Rocks My World on Facebook or follow Valorant Source on Twitter to get notified with updates.