Killjoy: Everything we know about Valorant's next agent

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Valorant's first post-release agent is a genius engineer with an auto turret.

Now that Valorant is officially out for anyone to play, it's time to start looking forward to what's coming next. Riot is treating Valorant like a living, breathing service game. That means new skins, battle passes, game modes, and maps on a regular schedule. That's all great, but the crown jewel of all updates is, of course, a new agent.

More agents in Valorant will mean fresh twists to the meta, more fun abilities to play around with, and new ways to use old agents. Riot has promised a new agent in every act (Valorant's name for seasons), each of which lasts a few months. With three acts to a chapter and two chapters per year, we can expect six new agents every year.

The first of those agents, as Riot finally announced following a leak, is German engineer Killjoy.

Who is Killjoy?

(Image credit: Riot Games)

Our first hint at the agent we now know to be Killjoy was in Valorant's Act 1 battle pass. A player card earned toward the end of the pass (pictured below) teases Killjoy's turret and Nanoswarm grenade.

Now that Riot has officially revealed Killjoy, we know that she's a German tech expert. Like other Valorant agents, we also know that she has an existing relationship with the cast that will come through in voice lines played at the beginning of rounds.

(Image credit: Riot Games)

What are Killjoy's abilities?

Thanks to an early leak from Riot itself, we already know the exact names and effects of Killjoy's abilities. Riot quickly removed the videos showing the abilities in action, but Valorant data miner floxay reposted them for all to see.

In order of appearance in the video, here's every ability and its description written from the perspective of Killjoy:

  • Alarmbot (C) - Equip and deploy a bot that hunts down enemies who dare to get in range. When my killer robot friend reaches its target, boom goes the idiot. Alarmbot not only deals damage, it temporarily leaves affected targets vulnerable to double damage from all sources. Hold equip if you want to recall your deployed bot.
  • Turret (Q) - Sometimes it's good to plant some roots. Deploy a turret that fires at enemies within its 180-degree cone. Hold equip to recall the deployed turret. With my turret, I can hold an area pretty well myself while the others cover the angles I can't.
  • Nanoswarm (E) - OK check this out. Throw the grenade. When it lands, it goes quiet. Then, activate the Nanoswarm to deploy a damaging swarm of nanobots and catch the enemy crying. I love this trick!
  • Lockdown (Ultimate) - You’ll have to adjust your timing for the windup, but once you get this device going, it detains all enemies caught in its radius for about 8 seconds. Yeah, enemies can destroy it—except I built plenty more.

Based on her abilities, Killjoy will specialize in locking down a site with traps and gadgets. The most interesting piece of her kit is the auto turret, which will serve as an extra pair of eyes that monitors a bomb site or covers a flank.

When will Killjoy release?

Riot is still being cagey on the release date for Act 2 (which will also coincide with Killjoy's release), but we can make a pretty good guess. Riot has said that the Act 1 battle pass is ending on Tuesday, August 2. It's unlikely that there will be a long gap between acts, so we should expect Act 2 to begin next week or the week of August 10.

Morgan Park
Morgan Park
Staff Writer

Morgan has been writing for PC Gamer since 2018, first as a freelancer and currently as a staff writer. He has also appeared on Polygon, Kotaku, Fanbyte, and PCGamesN. Before freelancing, he spent most of high school and all of college writing at small gaming sites that didn't pay him. He's very happy to have a real job now. Morgan is a beat writer following the latest and greatest shooters and the communities that play them. He also writes general news, reviews, features, the occasional guide, and bad jokes in Slack. Twist his arm, and he'll even write about a boring strategy game. Please don't, though.