Riot Games just announced Patch Patch 13.06 for Valorant, the largest update the game has seen in 2026. So far this year, Valorant fans have seen several notable updates, including the announcement of a new agent in March, a new sidearm in January, and various reworks and system changes throughout the year. “In Patch 13.06 we’re going big. REAL big,” reads the caption for the “Dev Updates” video posted on the game’s official YouTube channel. Hosted by ten members of Valorant’s development team, this drop promises an “insane new mode, [a] new rifle, [and] new systems.”
The five minute video begins with a conversation between Head of Valorant Studio Anna Donlon and Executive Producer Andy Ho. “Miks is dope, Summit is beautiful, we’ve tried out a bunch of new modes…” Donlon remarks, noting some of the game’s updates over the past year, before announcing that this time, she would like to “go big.” What, exactly, ‘going big’ entails, however, is revealed slowly, introduced by the other eight representatives of the development team.
With the help of Donlon and Ho, Project Manager Armand Asdourian, along with Game Designer Ryan Cousart, introduce Valorant’s newest mode. This mode is “unlike any other, [where] eight teams of two fight it out in a tournament style round robin, until only one team remains.” Instead of choosing agents, this mode allows players to “create a hybrid Robo-Agent of [their] own by drafting from a random assortment of abilities and upgrading the ones that match [their] play style.” Players may also encounter glitches that have the potential to temporarily change their Robo-Agent’s abilities.
Moving on, Game Designer Eric Hankins shares a “brand new progression system with a customizable new Agent ID.” This ID rewards players for their time spent playing as a specific Agent, as well as their achievement.
Game Designers Dan Hardison and Sherry Fan are at the drawing board when they announce a new “core rifle option.” This rifle, dubbed ‘the Warden,’ will be the “same tier as the Phantom and Vandal,” but will be significantly more powerful and “more impactful on buy rounds.” It works best at high angles, offering players an option other than a Sniper. They also confirm that nothing noteworthy will be added to agents for this patch, but tease that something could be added to Miks after the Champions event ends in mid October.
Finally, the competitive team has announced new opportunities for players to showcase their skill, “track [their] journey,” and “showcase [their] achievements” in Act 5 and V27. New rewards include an evolving competitive coin ‘flex’ that “upgrades based on rank achievements throughout the year.” All these updates will be part of Patch 13.06, which will be releasing to players for free on September 22, 2026, as an automatic update.