To enter the closed beta, you’ll need to sign up for a Riot account, link it to Twitch and then watch people stream the game for a chance to get an invite. At the moment, the game is a PC exclusive. But with modest requirements across the board, don’t let that discourage you from trying to get into the closed beta if you’re interested.

To play Valorant at 30 frames per second, Riot says you’ll want a computer with at least an Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 processor and an integrated HD 3000 graphics card. Basically, almost any PC made in the last decade or so should be able to run the game. Playing the game at 60 and 144 frames per second won’t require cutting edge hardware either. At the top end, Riot says a computer with an Intel Core i5 4460 processor, GeForce GTX 1050 Ti GPU and 4GB of RAM will do the trick. That said, even something like a seven-year-old GeForce GT 730 will get you to 60 frames per second.

The closed beta should be a good opportunity for people to see what Valorant is all about and whether it stands out in a crowded field that includes behemoths like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Rainbow Six Siege.

As Eurogamer reports, Riot is positioning the game as a vibrant alternative to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The art style screams Overwatch, but the gameplay is noticeably different. Combat leans heavily on gunplay, for instance — every Agent uses real-world weapons and most of their base-level abilities are designed to complement them. Jett, for instance, throws out vision-obscuring Cloudburst fog, while Brimstone can request a Stim Beacon that gives all nearby players rapid fire. Ultimate abilities, meanwhile, are a little more fantastical: Jett gains several throwing daggers during Blade Storm, for example, while Sova shoots out deadly Hunter’s Fury energy blasts. (Check out Polygon for a full breakdown of the Agents.)

Sommer 2020
2020 여름
Лето 2020 pic.twitter.com/A7BnCpGhFV

— VALORANT (@PlayVALORANT) March 2, 2020

Four maps will be available at launch, according to Eurogamer, with at least one mode that tasks you with attacking and defending different control points. Matches will take roughly 30 minutes, but can obviously go for longer if you’re stuck in a particularly tense shootout or back-and-forth power struggle. On the official Valorant website, Riot Games is quick to emphasize the title’s technical performance, which will be critical if the developer wants to pull players away from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

“128-tick servers, at least 30 frames per second on most min-spec computers (even dating back a decade), 60 to 144 FPS on modern gaming rigs, a global spread of datacenters aimed at <35ms for players in major cities around the world, a netcode we’ve been obsessing over for years, and a commitment to anti-cheat from day one,” the site promises.

Crucially, Valorant doesn’t appear to be set in the League of Legends universe. That’s a big departure from Teamfight Tactics, an auto-battler mode offered inside League of Legends, its newly-launched Legends of Runeterra card game, and upcoming Riot Forge projects including Ruined King and Conv/rgence, which allow external developers to use the League of Legends license. It’s a big gamble for Riot, but one that could pay off handsomely if the game takes off and, perhaps more importantly, becomes an esport that can challenge other shooters including Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Call of Duty, Overwatch and Rainbow Six Siege.