Will Valorant drop FPS in Unreal Engine 5?

rachel Published October 3, 2024

Riot Games has announced that Valorant is moving to Unreal Engine 5, opening possibilities for new gaming experiences. But should players on low-end computers be concerned about Valorant’s performance on Unreal Engine 5 performance?

Valorant is not the most graphically forward game, a weakness that’s less noticeable thanks to its toon-shaded visuals. Compared with other shooter titles, Riot’s FPS isn’t the most realistic and may stay this way. However, the developer is looking to improve the existing animation style by upgrading Valorant’s base engine. Valorant was built on Unreal Engine 4, and now, four years after the game’s release, the developer has revealed plans for a UE 5 port.

At Unreal Fest 2024, Valorant’s studio head Anna Donlan confirmed that an upgrade is in the works, and it may bring significant changes to Valorant’s playable experiences.

Will Unreal Engine 5 impact Valorant FPS?

Valorant’s port to Unreal Engine 5 may not impact FPS to the extent that players may be anticipating.

Anna Donlon has stated that the main priority for the port is to expand the range of playable experiences rather than improve performance. Instead of focusing on enhancing in-game performance with Unreal Engine 5, the developer is likely considering adding in-game mini-games or modes.

“This upgrade is not going to significantly change how Val looks or performs, at least not right away. There are many developers who are very excited about what UE5 can do for us in the future,” Anna Donlon said.

According to a leak, Riot has been working on the port for more than a year, and while the main focus is game modes, some ambient adjustments have also been made. In particular, more realistic skies and light reflections on objects have already been added to the files, leakers claim. Based on this, it’s safe to say that Valorant’s FPS output on Unreal Engine 5 would not be exactly the same as before.

Unreal Engine 5 uses more memory, which can reduce CPU usage and disk activity, boosting performance on modern hardware. However, optimal performance requires developers to disable unnecessary features, understand UE5’s intricacies, and effectively optimize the game. When done correctly, UE5 can outperform its predecessor, Unreal Engine 4, on modern hardware.

Some players who are on ancient builds may need to do minor optimizations in order to get the same FPS they did before, but it’s unlikely that an engine upgrade would require them to discard their computers. Valorant performance on Unreal Engine 5 may largely remain unaffected, based on what Riot has shared so far.