We’ve had plenty of new maps since VALORANT’s debut, but one of the OG maps still remains disabled. Split was not everyone’s favorite map, but it grew on us and we want it back.
When is Split going back into rotation?
Back in June, the map was disabled, then re-enabled then disabled again for good. Riot Games cited extensive re-works for the map and a potential return in the future. Nothing further was added since.
Bugs plagued Split, but it was a layout problem
Split was not an easy map to play as attacker, especially in non-competitive play. Narrow entryways, too many verticals and side corners made the map undesirable in the early days. However, now that we have Fracture, the sentiment has changed.
On top of a very narrow-sighted entry strategy required. Split was plagued with bugs from the get go. From Omen teleporting out of the map in the early days, to insane boosts on odd pixels, it was a lovely mess through and through.
https://twitter.com/Dakrues/status/1534621431102726145
Jett and Raze players reigned supreme with clutch boosts at the end of the maps cycle. Thanks to this bug, players could be in an unexpected position and take their opponents by surprise. This “bug” was it was the nail in the coffin for the map.
Split was removed from the map pool after Riot Games announced it on June 9th. However, it didn’t take long before it was brought back to the pool. After a 1-day break, Riot Games managed to fix the bug on June 10 and activated Split again. Days later the map was out of rotation for good.
When does Split return to Valorant?
So far, Valorant devs only hinted that Split may return in the future in a potential map rotation cycle. We are likely waiting for the next map release to see this rotation materialize. We already have leaks the map is codenamed Jam, and is likely arriving by end of year. This points toward a potential Split return in early 2023 in the first map rotation to hit the game.
Devs work at their own pace in Valorant, and usually we get new things when we least expect, so early next year is the expected return date. It should pair well with upcoming Cypher buffs.