Valorant Takes Controversial Measures To Prevent Smurfing

Smurfing has been a big problem in games like Valorant, especially since it's free to play. Even when it’s against the rules, banned players can just create a new account and start over. That makes it tough to deal with.

To help fix this, Riot is planning to add identity checks before players can join ranked matches. The feature isn’t live yet, but Riot has confirmed it’s in the works. The goal is to make sure each account is tied to a real person, making it harder to smurf.

Valorant Wants to Stop Smurfing with New ID Checks

Smurfing has been a big problem in games like Valorant, especially since it's free to play. Even when it’s against the rules, banned players can just create a new account and start over. That makes it tough to deal with.

To help fix this, Riot is planning to add identity checks before players can join ranked matches. The feature isn’t live yet, but Riot has confirmed it’s in the works. The goal is to make sure each account is tied to a real person, making it harder to smurf.

If you’re not familiar, smurfing is when high-skill players create new accounts to play against lower-skilled players. It can completely ruin the experience for newer players.

At first, this new system will only apply to accounts with suspicious activity, for example, logging in from a new location. It’s meant to stop people from sharing accounts or skipping the usual grind to unlock ranked.

Riot has already used similar systems in countries like China and South Korea, where players need to provide a government-issued ID to create an account.