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VALORANT lore 2026: Agent backstories, Alpha vs Omega and Hush
From the events that changed the world to the origins of the VALORANT Protocol, get up to speed with the key moments that shaped the game's universe.
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VALORANT is more than a tactical 5v5 shooter. Its lore spans two parallel Earths, a mysterious substance called Radianite and a cast of agents with complex backstories and hidden agendas. Here is your 2026 guide to the story, from the world-changing First Light event to Hush, the newest Duelist.
On the surface, VALORANT is simple: two teams of five face off, with attackers trying to plant the Spike and defenders aiming to stop them. But beneath the tactical gunplay lies a much bigger story. Riot Games has built a rich universe of rival worlds, mysterious technology and agents with intertwined pasts. Here's what you need to know.
01
The origins of VALORANT
Almost everything in the VALORANT universe was born out of First Light. Think of First Light as a flash or electromagnetic pulse on Earth that happens sometime in the near future. It’s a pivotal event in the VALORANT narrative.
The mirrorverse
As a result of First Light, two earths were confirmed: Alpha Earth and Omega Earth. As the name suggests, they are versions of the same world. As far as gameplay is concerned, the attacking team is from Omega Earth since they are in desperate need of resources. The defending team is from Alpha Earth, keeping the radianite safe.
Radianite
In the VALORANT game story, Radianite has always existed on Earth but was discovered worldwide during First Light. It’s a minable substance that is a sustainable source of energy. When the flash of First Light happened, a few humans reacted to the radianite, becoming Radiants with hypernatural abilities.
Kingdom Corporation
This company existed before First Light, but it now has a monopoly on radianite and is, therefore, very powerful. It manufactures almost anything, from coffee to weapons. Because it has such a giant corporate agenda, many people don’t trust Kingdom.
A juicy tidbit is that Kingdom had their hands on radianite before First Light — and may have ultimately caused the event during experimentation. K-CORP’s counterpart on Omega Earth is Kingdom Industries, which travels to other planets to mine radianite.
The VALORANT universe is expanding
© Riot Games
VALORANT Protocol and VALORANT Legion
VALORANT Protocol is a covert organization that defends Alpha Earth from threats that have originated from First Light. These threats include its own Omega Earth counterpart, VALORANT Legion. Each organization is made up of Agents, which are the game’s playable characters.
Scions of Hourglass
This super-secretive organization exists on both Alpha and Omega Earth. For mysterious reasons, they try to keep radianite hush-hush by any means necessary. That includes assassinating scientists. Their prime directive is that the world isn't ready to harness the power of radianite yet.
But wait, there’s more
VALORANT's lore stretches across different eras and timelines. First Light is a pivotal event in the past, while armor and other artifacts draw on Japan's Edo period. Then there are the Astral Guardians, who protect reality and space-time from collapse and may have created some of these artifacts. Another mysterious player is ATLAS, an Omega Earth organization that sees Alpha Earth as a threat. And if that isn't enough, a Radiant War looms in a future timeline. Life is never boring in VALORANT.
Improve at VALORANT with these helpful tips
02
How many VALORANT agents are there in 2026?
Agents are the playable characters, and each has their own personality and abilities. They fall into four roles: controllers, duelists, initiators and sentinels. Controllers shape the map and block enemy sight lines. Duelists chase frags (kills). Initiators start the fight and flush out defenders, and sentinels keep the defensive lines tight. Pick the role that fits your playstyle and your team's plan.
The current roster has 29 playable agents, with duelist Hush being the latest addition to the ever-evolving roster in October 2026.
Why do the numbers not match? Lore numbers follow the order in which agents joined the VALORANT Protocol on Alpha Earth. Slot 08 has never been filled, so Hush carries lore number 31 but is only the 30th agent you can actually play. Same story for Miks, who is lore number 30 and the 29th playable agent.
03
Classic VALORANT agent backstories
Jett (AKA Sunwoo Han, Wushu, Woosh, and Hawk)
Yuki Tsunoda's new VALORANT Jett themed helmet design
© Mark Roe / Red Bull Content Pool
Hailing from South Korea, this radiant Agent is known for controlling the wind as an agile duelist. VP-10 (meaning, she was the 10th Agent to join VALORANT Protocol) is definitely not a people-person and prefers doing things her way. Before VP, she worked as a chef in Seoul. Her restaurant was destroyed by a massive storm that may or may not have been caused by Jett meeting her Omega Earth counterpart.
As far as her windy powers go, they can help the whole team. She can propel objects — and even herself — upward with Updraft or quickly in any direction with Tailwind. Her Blade Storm is a lethal set of throwing knives. And she can throw an airy projectile that blocks an enemy’s vision with Cloudburst.
Phoenix (AKA Jamie Adeyemi, Phnx, and Apollo)
Phoenix
© Riot Games
VP-9 is a fiery Brit. As a radiant duelist, Phoenix controls the flames. When he was a wee lad in South London, Phoenix was into theater — possibly having burnt down a performing arts school on a bad day. He can be quite reckless because his confidence knows no limit.
His Curveballs detonate and blind enemies around the corner. His Hot Hands throw a flame that scorches the ground. Similarly, Phoenix can cast a firewall with Blaze. And if he’s ever too rash, Phoenix can snap back to a previous, safe location with Run it Back.
Sage (AKA Ling Ying Wei and Thorne)
Sage goes on basically every team
© Riot Games
From the Shaanxi province in China, this radiant sentinel heals others and is a gifted geomancer, meaning she manipulates the earth. She spent her youth in a monastery, further deepening her wisdom and kindness. VP-7 is a popular teammate for all.
Sage slows down enemies by throwing a Slow Orb, making the ground more difficult to traverse, while her Barrier Orb builds an actual wall. Her Healing Orb can heal her allies and herself, and she can resurrect a fallen friend with Resurrection.
Sova (AKA Sasha Novikov, Filin, Hunter, The man who never missed a shot)
Sova
© Riot Games
This level-headed Russian plays the role of initiator. He is not radiant but instead unleashes his unmatched archery skills with radiant technology onto enemies. Despite his moniker, Sova has missed a shot — and it haunts him to this day. Not much is known from his military background, other than it ended with a bit of a rift. Though he’s missing an eye, Sova possesses amazing scouting abilities.
VP-6’s bow skills are fatal. He can fire thunderous arrows with Shock Bolt, and a long-range, three-prong, wall-piercing attack with Hunter’s Fury. His handy Owl Drone is a controllable extension of his armor that can shoot marking darts to reveal enemy locations. And if the owl didn’t find an enemy, his Recon Bolt will by scanning the environment. There’s no hiding.
Reyna (AKA Zyanya Mondragón and Vampire)
Participants at the Nation Final of Red Bull Campus Clutch 2021 in Nigeria
© Axono Intergrated Services / Red Bull Content Pool
The 11th Agent to join VALORANT Protocol proudly comes from Mexico. Reyna is a cold-blooded duelist, radiant, and harvests the souls of her victims in order to live. She believes radiants are superior to technology usage and is very anti-Kingdom. She’s built a sanctuary city for all radiants as a resistance to K-CORP’s unethical behavior. Her sister Lucia is in a critical state, nearing death’s door every day. Saving Lucia is Reyna’s motivation.
Reyna can enter a state of frenzy with Empress, which boosts her attack power drastically. After she takes down an enemy, she can Devour their soul orbs left behind, healing her. After consuming the soul orb, she can use Dismiss to become intangible and possibly even invisible. Speaking of vision, her Leer can shoot a destructive eye that renders enemies nearsighted when they look at it.
Other Agents in the VALORANT universe
VALORANT agent Brimstone
© Riot Games
There are so many more Agents with their own special set of skills. VP-1 and VP-2, Brimstone and Viper, are founding members of VALORANT Protocol. Both are humans from the United States and the first and second-in-command. VP-3, Omen, is radiant and is known to be cynical, cheerless, and dark-humored. He’s also lost almost all of his memories, making him even more cryptic.
Clove (VP-25) is an immortal, radiant Scot who was discovered by Omen. They love mischief, can resurrect themselves and drain enemies, and they were the newest agent to join the game in 2024. However, two years later, six more agents have joined the roster. More on that later.
Other notable Agents include:
- Cypher — VP-5 is a one-man surveillance system from Morocco.
- Breach, lucky number VP-13, is a Swede with artificial arms and immense firepower.
- Interdimensional Japanese native, Yoru, uses deception, aggression, and surprise to take down his enemies.
And on and on the list goes.
04
The newest agents
Since the initial line-up in 2024, the Protocol has welcomed six new recruits. This is who they are, where they come from, and how they fit into the story.
Vyse
A former Kingdom researcher, Vyse is a radiant with Radianite-infused liquid metal running through her. The Scions of Hourglass imprisoned her. After she escaped and destroyed two of their hideouts, a Protocol strike team found her in Seoul and convinced her to join. Today she leads the Protocol's own research into the Interverse.
- Lore number: VP-26
- Role: Sentinel (sixth)
- Joined the game: Episode 9 Act 2, 28 August 2024
Tejo
Tejos uses a drone to scan the battlefield
© Riot Games
Tejo is a veteran intelligence consultant from Colombia who steers ballistic strikes onto enemy positions. Before the Protocol, he already ran missions with old friends Waylay and Veto. In the Dawn Breaks trailer, he calls Waylay in for support during a mission in Thailand.
- Lore number: VP-27
- Role: Initiator (seventh)
- Origin: Colombia
Waylay
Ariya Saengkaew from Thailand is a radiant who bends light into speed and disruption. Tejo asked her to help during the Bangkok mission, and that request led to her recruitment. Lore fans read hints in her voice lines as signs of a rougher past, but Riot has not confirmed details.
- Lore number: VP-28
- Role: Duelist (eighth)
- Origin: Thailand
Veto
- Lore number: VP-29
- Role: Sentinel (seventh)
- Origin: Senegal
Miks
Miks is an upbeat Croatian who turns every fight into a performance and uses sonic powers to set the tempo for his squad. Despite the party attitude, the lore shows him as protective and aware of what his team needs.
- Lore number: VP-30
- Role: Controller (seventh)
- Origin: Croatia
- Joined the game: Patch 12.05
Hush
Hush is the first Agent since VALORANT’s new Agent Mastery system launched
© Riot Games
Riot revealed Hush at the Champions 2026 grand final in Shanghai on October 18, with the cinematic Rise and Fall. She comes from Guangdong, China, which makes her the third Chinese agent after Sage and Iso. In the trailer, she walks down a rain-soaked alley into a restaurant full of armed enemies and uses telekinesis to steal a pistol and move objects around her. Riot have not shared a full backstory yet.
Her kit revolves around telekinesis: she moves objects from a distance, blinds enemies with a steerable flash and locks them in place with her ultimate. Exact ability names and numbers can still change before launch.
- Lore number: Agent 31
- Role: Duelist (ninth)
- Origin: Guangdong, China
- Release: Season 2026 Act 6
05
Connecting the Agents
As with any workplace, there are good and bad relationships between the Agents. For example, Killjoy and Reyna are definitely not friends. It’s implied that one of Killjoy’s inventions was responsible for Lucia’s harm. However, Reyna has a soft spot for Viper, who is playing a role in keeping Lucia alive.
In Killjoy’s world, VP-12 Raze has turned from a rival into a romantic partner. Raze is also close friends with Breach as they destroy Kingdom facilities together and break laws for fun. This puts them at odds with Brimstone because of VP-1’s corporate past with Kingdom.
Another intertwined relationship includes Viper and Omen. Before his transformation, Omen was ordered to assassinate Viper by the Scions of Hourglass. The attempt failed and Viper and Omen seem to have bonded over this, with Viper saving Omen. Her medicinal skills saved his life but turned him radiant. In short, there’s no list long enough to contain all the relationships that have been built over the years in VALORANT.
New in 2026: the relationship between Viper and Brimstone has become one of the central conflicts of the story.
Future lore developments
VALORANT has been continuously updating gameplay and storylines, so there’s always something new to speculate about. Agent 08 is one of those. The agent roster seems logical with the numbers (VP-1, VP-2, etc.), but slot eight has always been empty. Developers recently shared that Agent 08 is not dead and has been on a secretive expedition. They will be added once they have returned. It would be an understatement to say that the anticipation for this agent is high. Fan theories are numerous, including anything from an agent being lactose intolerant to every round played being a new alternate reality.
New maps are also constantly keeping players on their toes since VALORANT is known for seeding lore within the battlefield. Then there’s the looming Radiant War. But the latest and most imminent expansion, though, must be that VALORANT has expanded from PC to PlayStation 5 and Xbox.
06
VALORANT lore in 2026: Alpha vs Omega
Season 2026 started with the cinematic Welcome to My World and the in-game event Alpha vs Omega Conflict (January 7 to February 3, 2026), which launched with Patch 12.00. Players picked a side, Alpha or Omega, and completed weekly challenges.
What the cinematic showed: On Omega Earth, Chamber is seriously wounded during a mission and appears to die. Viper, who is Chamber's partner in the Omega timeline, turns against Brimstone and kills him. The Omega team then crosses over to Alpha Earth to confront their counterparts. Alpha Sova and Omega Sova also clash, leaving both wounded.
Important: Viper and Chamber are a couple in the Omega timeline, but their relationship on Alpha Earth has not been confirmed. Each agent has a different life and history on the two Earths.
Why this matters: the cinematic also shows Omega Earth collapsing under Radianite technology, with Yoru trying to save children caught in an explosion. The conflict is no longer a simple good-versus-evil story. Omega is fighting for survival.
Agent 08 and what comes next
Agent 08 remains the biggest open question. According to Riot's lore wiki, this character is missing from both the VALORANT Protocol and the VALORANT Legion and will appear once their story is ready to be told. There is no information on a playable version.
Fan theories range from a lactose-intolerant agent to every round being a new alternate reality. None are confirmed.
VALORANT is an epic universe
Everyone loves a good story, especially when it comes to video game lore. And VALORANT does secrets, character arcs, battles, and wars like J. R. R. Tolkien or George R.R. Martin.
When it’s time to move from the lore to the lingo, learn the terms every VALORANT player should know.
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