Valorant Console will miss out on this feature due to Xbox
Valorant Console releases soon in a limited beta on June 14, 2024. The game's release on popular consoles, including the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox X|S, is seeing a lot of hype. Smooth hip-firing may become an issue on consoles due to the lack of a mouse, but the developers have introduced the powerful Focus mode feature that will allow players to hip-fire better on controllers. The Focus mode in Valorant Console wil help even out the playing field for PC and console users.
However, gyro-aiming will not be available on Valorant Console since Xbox players are unable to access this feature.
PS5 players miss out on gyro-aiming in Valorant Console because of Xbox controllers
Xbox controllers do not feature the high-tech gyro-aiming feature. However, for PS5 users, it is a standard and well-known mechanic across several popular FPS titles, such as Fortnite and The Finals.
This feature will not be supported in Valorant Console to maintain parity between players of the two consoles. Gyro-aiming helps you aim as you move your controller. The physical movement of your controller translates to the screen, and the crosshair also moves in that specific direction. This helps you mimic the movements of a mouse on a computer.
The Product Management lead of Valorant, Coleman Palm, thoroughly explained the situation regarding the feature in his responses to fans on the popular social media platform X.
He initially responded to a fan asking if there would be gyroscope support in Valorant Console. He noted that he would enjoy experimenting with the mechanic, but for the time being, the game does not have it.
Fans then went on to assume that the feature was seemingly a blindspot for many developers, including the ones working on Valorant at Riot Games. This is because the tech may be a little difficult to work around since it mimics the mouse.
Coleman Palm responded that gyro aiming was certainly not a blindspot for the Valorant Console team. He stated that they did not want to favor PS5 players over Xbox players, with the latter missing out on the feature.
"Not a blind spot for us fwiw, but it’s not supported on Xbox controllers natively. If we leaned super hard into gyro being “the way to play” on console we’d be heavily favoring PS5>Xbox, which we don’t want to do."
He noted how favoring one console over the other would not have been very fair on Riot Games' part. Regardless, he did mention that he thought gyro features were "cool," so they may be implemented in the future.