To install Valorant on a Windows 10 or 11 PC, download the official installer from playvalorant.com/download, run it, and let it install both the Riot Client and Valorant. Sign in or create a Riot account, accept the Terms of Service, and click the Valorant icon in the Riot Client to finish the download. As of 2026, Valorant requires TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot on Windows 11.
Applies to: Windows 10 (22H2) and Windows 11 (23H2, 24H2, 25H2) | Last updated: May 4, 2026
Key Takeaways
- Valorant is free on PC and only available through the Riot Client — there is no Steam or Microsoft Store version.
- On Windows 11 you must have TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot enabled for Riot Vanguard to launch the game. Riot enforced this on Windows 11 in 2024 and the requirement is still in effect.
- Riot Vanguard is a kernel-level anti-cheat that runs at boot. It is required for Valorant; it cannot be disabled while playing, but you can fully uninstall it when you are done.
- Plan for around 35 GB of storage for the base install plus periodic act updates. Valorant runs on very modest hardware — 4 GB RAM and an Intel HD 4000 GPU meet the minimum spec.
- The download is split in two phases: the Riot Client first (small), then Valorant itself (the bulk of the install).
Quick Steps
- Confirm Windows 11 has TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot enabled (Windows 10 22H2 has no extra requirement).
- Go to playvalorant.com/download and click Download.
- Run the
Install VALORANT.exeinstaller and accept the UAC prompt. - (Optional) Click Advanced Options to choose a different install drive.
- Let the installer install the Riot Client and Riot Vanguard automatically.
- Sign in to your Riot account or create a new one.
- Accept the Terms of Service.
- In the Riot Client, click the Valorant icon in the top-left and let the game finish downloading.
- Restart the PC if Vanguard prompts for it, then launch Valorant.
Valorant System Requirements in 2026
Valorant is one of the lighter competitive shooters on the market — Riot designed it specifically to run on weak hardware so the player base could be as large as possible. The catch in 2026 is the security requirement, not the performance requirement.
Minimum (30 FPS at 1080p):
- OS: Windows 10 22H2 64-bit, Windows 11 23H2 or later
- CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 or AMD Athlon 200GE
- RAM: 4 GB
- GPU: Intel HD 4000 or equivalent
- Storage: Around 35 GB
Recommended (60 FPS at 1080p):
- CPU: Intel i3-4150 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200
- GPU: Geforce GT 730 or AMD Radeon R7 240
- RAM: 8 GB
High-end (240+ FPS at 1080p): any modern Ryzen 5 / Core i5 + GTX 1660 or RTX 3050 will exceed 240 FPS at low settings, which is what most competitive players target.
Important: On Windows 11, Riot Vanguard requires TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot. Both are usually on by default on PCs that came with Windows 11, but if you upgraded from Windows 10 with workarounds, you will need to enable both in BIOS or Vanguard will refuse to start the game. This requirement does not apply to Windows 10 22H2.
Step 1: Download the Valorant Installer
Open any browser and navigate to the official Valorant download page at playvalorant.com/download. Avoid third-party sites — Valorant is only legitimately distributed by Riot Games, and copies hosted on file-sharing sites are almost always malware.
Click the large Download button. Your browser downloads a small bootstrap installer — about 1 MB — called Install VALORANT.exe. This is not the game itself; it is the launcher for the rest of the install.
Step 2: Run the Installer
Find Install VALORANT.exe in your Downloads folder and double-click it. Windows shows a User Account Control prompt — click Yes. The installer opens with a single screen showing the install progress.
To change the install drive, click Advanced Options. The default location is C:\Riot Games; if your C: drive is short on space, point it at a secondary SSD. Avoid installing to a slow mechanical hard drive — Valorant load times suffer noticeably without an SSD.
Click Install. The installer downloads and installs the Riot Client first (a few hundred megabytes), and along with it the Riot Vanguard anti-cheat driver. Vanguard will trigger another UAC prompt — accept it. The driver loads at boot from this point onwards.
Step 3: Sign In or Create a Riot Account
When the Riot Client finishes installing, it opens automatically. Sign in with your Riot account credentials, or click Create Account if this is your first Riot game. Use a real email address — Riot sends a verification email and you cannot play ranked until the account is verified.
After sign-in, the client shows the Riot Terms of Service. Scroll all the way to the bottom and click Accept. The button stays greyed out until you have scrolled through the full agreement.
Tip: Enable two-factor authentication on your Riot account from account.riotgames.com. Valorant accounts get targeted constantly by hijackers because of skins value, and 2FA blocks almost all of those attempts.
Step 4: Download Valorant from the Riot Client
Once you accept the Terms of Service, the Riot Client home page loads. Click the small Valorant tile in the upper-left corner. The download starts automatically — you should see “Downloading” with a percentage and a download speed indicator.
The download is around 35 GB in 2026. Time depends on your connection — on a 100 Mbps line, expect about 50 minutes; on a gigabit connection, around 7 minutes. Wired Ethernet is more stable than Wi-Fi for the initial download.
When the bar fills, the Play button replaces the download progress. If Vanguard requires a restart (common on first install), reboot the PC, then launch Valorant from the Riot Client.
Tune Windows for Better Valorant Performance
Valorant is light enough that most PCs hit playable framerates straight out of the box, but background processes — Windows Update, OneDrive, telemetry — still cause stutters during peak fights. Winhance disables that background noise on Windows 10 and 11 with one click, without breaking the OS. For a fresh install, UnattendedWinstall bakes those tweaks directly into a custom Windows ISO so the system is ready to game from first boot.
If you also need to update or reinstall your GPU driver, see my general driver installation guide or NVIDIA driver guide for GeForce hardware. And if Valorant or its anti-cheat ever leave a corrupt install behind, my force-uninstall guide for Valorant and the Riot Client walks through the full cleanup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Valorant free to play on PC?
Yes. The base Valorant game is free on PC. Riot makes its money on cosmetics — skins, agent contracts, and the Battle Pass — none of which give competitive advantages. There is no upfront cost.
Why does Valorant require TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot on Windows 11?
Riot enforces TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot on Windows 11 to make Vanguard’s anti-cheat harder to bypass. Cheaters often disable Secure Boot to load unsigned kernel drivers — by requiring Secure Boot, Vanguard can verify the boot chain is intact. The check only applies on Windows 11; Windows 10 22H2 has no extra requirement.
Is Riot Vanguard safe to install?
Vanguard is a kernel-level driver — it runs at the same privilege as Windows itself, so the trust threshold is high. Riot has gone through three years of public security review on it without a major incident, but the driver is always loaded once installed. If that bothers you, my guide on how to force-uninstall Valorant and the Riot Client shows how to remove Vanguard cleanly when you are done playing.
How long does Valorant take to download?
The 2026 install is around 35 GB. On a 100 Mbps connection, expect 45-60 minutes. On gigabit fibre, more like 7-10 minutes. Wired Ethernet is more reliable than Wi-Fi for the initial download, especially because the Riot Client does not always handle resumed downloads gracefully.
Can I change the installation path for Valorant?
Yes. Click Advanced Options on the first install screen and pick a different folder before clicking Install. Picking a fast NVMe SSD over a slower drive cuts Valorant’s load time noticeably. You cannot change the install path after installation without uninstalling and reinstalling.
Can I install Valorant on a laptop?
Yes. Valorant runs well on most laptops from 2018 onwards thanks to its low minimum requirements (Intel HD 4000, 4 GB RAM). Make sure the laptop is plugged in for stable framerates — battery-saver power profiles cap CPU performance and cause noticeable stutters in competitive play.
