Fool for love? Riot announce Valorant: Agent of Romance, a dating sim

The Valorant universe is expanding, and in unlikely ways as Riot Games has announced, Valorant: Agents of Romance, a brand new "full game" in the dating sim genre.

Of course, I would be remiss not to ask you to take stock of the date today, and I went back and forth whether to truly "announce" this game at all but after a series of leaked files entered Valorant with the v2.06 patch that showed that "Love Letters", a "Love Rating" and "Heart Rank", among other things were being added to the (very real) main game I felt obliged.

"VALORANT: Agents of Romance will be Riot Games’ first full game in the dating sim genre. This is following the success of League of Legends’ Spirit Blossom event, which featured dating sim components that delighted fans around the world," wrote Riot Games in a press release.

(Picture: Riot Games)

The press release all came with four images, including a title screen and three in-game screenshots, with the gameplay looking similar to the hugely popular anime dating simulation games, like If My Heart Had Wings and the Sakura Wars series, that emerged out of Japan since the 90s.

Riot claims the success of League of Legends' Spirit Blossom event, which featured dating sim components, was the impetus for such a title.

(Picture: Riot Games)

"We’ve been looking into ways to expand and explore the Valorant universe, even prior to launch, and when we landed on a dating sim, it just made sense,” said Anna Donlon, Executive Producer of Valorant. “We believe that everyone can relate to and enjoy the Agents of Valorant, whether they’re tac-shooter players or dating sim players."

The game will see players take on the role of a new recruit as they train to become a Valorant Agent. As players attempt to navigate the "rough and tumble life" of an Agent in training, they will build relationships with others, collect items, go on dates, and maybe even save the world.

(Picture: Riot Games)

"It’s kind of funny. At first, we wanted to launch Agents of Romance as a game mode in VALORANT, but it started to take on a life of its own," said Joe Ziegler, Game Director of VALORANT and VALORANT: Agents of Romance. "I don’t remember who suggested it, but at some point we just said, ‘Screw it. Let’s make this a whole game."

• Read more: Valorant Love Event: Love Letter locations, Love Rating, Heart Rank, more

How this will all tie in with the data mined files seen in the main game, if it does at all, is yet to be seen.

Riot says that Valorant: Agents of Romance is set to launch for PC in 2021.