Middle East and India servers "extremely likely" to arrive by end of the year

We have spoken before about how server issues and ping difference can hinder the potential of promising VALORANT players, especially if they are in MENA, OCE, India, or any other country where they are forced to play on servers far away from their homes. Riot Games promised before they would release dedicated servers to these regions during 2020, and as we near its end, players understandably are questioning if it is still happening. However, it looks like they are still committed to getting them up and working before the end of the year.

There was a recent Reddit thread initiated by a VALORANT player from Kazakhstan, showing his constant connection issues and high ping while playing against European players with an average of 40 ping. VALORANT’s Technology Director, who goes by the username of ZealousApathy, commented on the post and gave us more insight on the current status of the Middle East and India servers. He emphasized it is “extremely likely” to see both of them arrive before the end of the year, being set up in Bahrain and Mumbai respectively.

ZealousApathy continued to explain how some countries, like Kazakhstan in this case, will still need more time to reach the studio’s “ideal” ping of 35ms or less. This is mainly due to the country’s location being almost in the middle of European and Middle Eastern servers.

This gives us another example of Riot Games' continuous commitment to growing VALORANT’s community, and with the addition of dedicated servers to these regions with a huge player base, we are bound to see a rise in their competitive esports ecosystem as well. The existence of a server by itself encourages more players to dive into the game without being pushed away from it purely because someone can have their shot registered on the server before them. It provides a level playing field, and that’s what you need when you are playing a tactical shooter.

What other regions do you think Riot Games will focus on next to set up their servers? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!