Episodes are the biggest competitive time frames in VALORANT. They contain 3 Acts, meaning that one episode is about 6 months long.
Despite being the biggest part of the VALORANT calendar, episodes don’t bring much more unique content than an Act would; large additions like agents, game modes, and maps are all released in Acts. A new episode does however have an effect on Competitive. Players will receive a gunbuddy based on their highest Act Rank they achieved during the previous episode, and their ranks will receive a soft reset. Players must play 5 placement games at the start of a new episode before they are given a rank for it.[1]
A new episode is also usually accompanied by a new cinematic that takes place within the lore of VALORANT.
List of Episodes[]
| Episode | Splash Art | Launch Date |
|---|---|---|
| Episode 08: DEFIANCE | 
|
January 9, 2024 |
| Episode 07: EVOLUTION | 
|
June 27, 2023 |
| Episode 06: REVELATION | 
|
January 10, 2023 |
| Episode 05: DIMENSION | 
|
June 22, 2022 |
| Episode 04: DISRUPTION | 
|
January 11, 2022 |
| Episode 03: REFLECTION | 
|
June 22, 2021 |
| Episode 02: FORMATION | 
|
January 12, 2021 |
| Episode 01: IGNITION | 
|
June 2, 2020 |