PlayStation fans blame Xbox for missing 'Valorant' console feature

Later this week Valorant will appear on consoles for the first time, in beta on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. However, some PS5 fans are upset that Valorant won't use one of the PS5's best features because it needs to maintain parity with the Xbox version.

Valorant is, of course, a first-person shooter where precision aiming is key. On PC, it's easy to work with the control a mouse allows when it comes to small movements. However, on console, recreating this precision aiming system is not easy, with Riot introducing a Focus Aim system for Valorant this will make it easier to hip fire when active, while allowing quick movement when not active. No one has been able to try it yet, but it could be a solution to what seemed like a difficult obstacle to overcome.

However, PS5 fans have noticed that a key feature of the PS5 is not used in Valorant on console, it arguably could have done a better job of allowing precision movement. The PS5 controller features gyroscopic technology, which can be used for a gyroscopic aiming feature, where moving the controller in a specific way can result in movement of the crosshair on the screen. It's already been used in a few games such as The Finals and Fortnite, and once you get the hang of it, it can lead to very precise aiming on a console that would have been perfect for Valorant.

However, Valorant on console will not feature gyroscopic aiming because the development team wants to keep a standard experience across all consoles, and since Xbox controllers do not have the same technology, it would be unfair to add it for PS5 players and not for those on the other side. This was explained by Coleman Palm, Head of Product Management on Valorant gameplay, in a thread on X discussing the possibility of gyroscopic aiming.

However, Palm goes on to say that the team could implement such a system in the future for PlayStation players, given that some working on the console port believe it to be a nice feature of the PS5.

One of the benefits of mainly covering PC games is that I don't have to think about the pointless console wars that people like to wage, but it's clear from the reaction to this news that there will be lots of feedback and fans on both sides over the next Valorant console ports. Luckily, there are only a few days left until the beta launches and players can see for themselves how little it matters that this little feature isn't available.