Riot Games has revealed Lotus, the ninth map for Valorant that will take players to India for a three-site shootout.
Announced today (January 6), Lotus is “inspired by traditional Indian stepwells, rock-cut architecture and Dravidian style structures.”
Riot Games has shared that Lotus will feature Spike sites and several new environmental mechanics when it launches with the start of Episode 6 Act 1 on January 10, including destructible walls and rotating doors. Ahead of the map launching on January 10, you can check out some images of Lotus below.
In a statement, level designer Joe Lansford explained that the map has three sites to fight over because it offers “high flexibility and movement for both teams,” and Riot wanted to prove it would use the three-site format for more than one map.
While Lansford says he originally envisioned the map as a space station with “an airlock mechanic that shut down large areas of the map,” the team ended up going in a separate direction, as art lead Brian Yam says they ended up taking inspiration from Indiana Jones.
“When we were exploring the conceptual aspect of this map, we wanted to push the boundaries of fantastical and mystical elements, which were not shown in our earlier maps,” shared Yam. “We wanted to explore the theme of grand adventure, mysteries lost to time, and a lost ancient structure. Indiana Jones was one of the thematic inspirations we drew from.”
Earlier today (January 6), Former Day6 vocalist and K-pop idol eaJ released ‘Visions’, a song made in collaboration with Riot.
The song’s music video teases the shooter’s upcoming map, and shows Valorant agents Astra and Harbor unlocking what appears to be the gates to Lotus.
In other gaming news, Cristiano Ronaldo has had his stats downgraded in FIFA 23 following a disastrous few months for the footballer.
