VALORANT: Upcoming Replay Mode faces backlash from pros and community

Even though it is not officially available yet, VALORANT’s upcoming replay mode is already facing heavy criticism from the community, including some of the game’s biggest stars. Scheduled for release with Patch 11.06, the highly anticipated feature was offered early access to select influencers during the launch of the new Champions skins.

These content creators were able to showcase how the mode works but also pointed out its shortcomings. When it comes to available matches, only your own games can be reviewed, and not across all game modes. This has frustrated many players and professionals, among them Tyson “TenZ” Ngo.

“If the replay system has no plans to allow viewing of other people's games, what is the point of releasing it?” he wrote on X. He also added, “Won’t be able to analyze high-level play to actually learn and VOD review as a team. Can’t even make a frag movie without account sharing?” He concluded his post by stressing his disappointment, claiming Riot Games is trying to deliver what players ask for, but without fully understanding what the community really wants.

TenZ’s remarks reflect the majority of the community’s frustrations. Beyond the fact that you can only review your own matches, the replay mode will not work with competitive or private lobbies. Instead, it will only be available for games played in Competitive, Unrated, Swiftplay, and Premier.

Brazilian streamer Guilherme “Tixinhadois” Cheida, who also tested the mode, said he asked developers about the lack of competitive and professional match replays. According to his tweet, “the developers replied that the idea was not to have replays of championships and ‘other players,’ and that this was therefore not a feature that would be added in the future.”

Another disappointing limitation is that replays cannot be downloaded. Unlike Counter-Strike, which lets players archive demos indefinitely, VALORANT’s replays will automatically expire and be deleted a few weeks after being saved by the user.

Riot has confirmed that the replay system will launch for most regions with Patch 11.06, expected on September 16. However, players in China will need to wait several more weeks before gaining access.

Replay functionality is one of the most requested features in VALORANT’s history, as detailed by Nibble in a video about the timeline. As far back as July 16, 2020, developers were already responding to community questions on the topic. At the time, Senior Producer Steven Eldredge admitted that “this is something that we’re interested in exploring soon,” and acknowledged the demand by saying, “we know that players will find a wide range of interesting uses for a system like this.”

On May 6, 2021, Riot addressed the topic again through Software Engineer Brandon Wang. While he confirmed there were still no concrete updates, he revealed that “talks are ongoing with multiple internal teams interested in a VALORANT replay system.” He ended his post with the playful promise: “We should have an update for you all soon.”

The optimism faded on May 19, 2022, when Eldredge, now leading Game Production, delivered a sobering update: “The shortest answer today is that there is no plan for a player-facing version of a replay system, as of now.” He added that Riot’s priorities were focused on features that would serve the largest number of players and have the greatest long-term impact on game health.

Shortly after, Director of Production and Product Lead Arnar Hrafn Gylfason clarified that replay mode was still on Riot’s roadmap, though not an immediate priority. He confirmed discussions had stopped for the time being, but reassured players it remained a possible feature for the future.

It was not until late January 2025 that Anna Donlon, Senior Vice President & Studio Head for VALORANT, confirmed replay mode was officially in development. While she avoided giving specifics, she stated, “We typically don’t talk about those things until we can make firmer commitments around dates or share actual details.”

Finally, on April 29, 2025, Riot announced the long-awaited release window: replay mode would arrive in September with Patch 11.09. The message was clear and direct: “REPLAYS ARE COMING IN SEPTEMBER!”