KAY/O revealed as Valorant’s 17th Agent: abilities, release date

In the run up to Valorant Act 3, Episode 1, Riot Games have announced that the newest Agent to join the fray is KAY/O, Future Earth’s resident Terminator.

For the past month, Valorant fans everywhere have been channeling their inner Sherlock Holmes in an attempt to deduce who the newest Agent to join the roster will be.

As information has continued to slip through the cracks, Agent 16 has finally been revealed as KAY/O, “a machine of war built for a single purpose: neutralizing radiants.”

Here’s everything you need to know about the robotic Initiator, including everything from his lore to his abilities and release date.

Who is KAY/O in Valorant?

KAY/O’s entire kit revolves around limiting enemy attacks. He provides his allies with “the ultimate edge” due to his unique ability to “suppress enemy abilities.”

His ZERO/Point suppression blade is unlike anything we’ve ever seen in Valorant. Introducing the “suppress” mechanic into the game, he fires a knife that sticks into whatever surface it hits first. Enemies nearby are unable to use their abilities.

Another new feature is contained within his Ultimate, NULL/cmd. As if unleashing a devastating shockwave and gaining Combat Stim wasn’t enough, he can also be revived if killed. This may explain that ‘downed’ mechanic that leaked a few months back.

Valorant: KAY/O Abilities

• Ability 1 – ZERO/point: EQUIP a suppression blade. FIRE to throw. The blade sticks to the first surface it hits, winds up, and suppresses anyone in the radius of the explosion.
• Ability 2 – FLASH/drive: EQUIP a flash grenade. FIRE to throw. The flash grenade explodes after a short fuse, blinding anyone in line of sight.
  • Right Clicking the flashbang, throws a charged flash, causing it to only have to cook for 1 second, as opposed to left click throwing a flash that cooks in 1.6 seconds.
• Ability 3 – FRAG/ment: EQUIP an explosive fragment. FIRE to throw. The fragment sticks to the floor and explodes multiple times, dealing near lethal damage at the center with each explosion.
• Ultimate Ability – NULL/cmd: INSTANTLY overload with polarized radianite energy that empowers KAY/O and causes large energy pulses to emit from his location. Enemies hit with these pulses are suppressed for a short duration.
  • While Overloaded, KAY/O gains Combat Stim
  • If KAY/O is killed while overloaded, he is downed and enters a destabilized state, allowing allies to stabilize his core and revive him.

KAY/O’s inspiration

The first thing that comes to mind when you look at KAY/O is the iconic robot Terminator. Turns out there’s some truth in that statement. “Given I’m not too versed in my sci-fi, I actually learned a lot about different inspirations from Terminator to I, Robot, even all the way to Chappie,” writes Ryan Cousart, KAY/O’s Game Designer.

Character Producer Jon Goscicki reveals that KAY/O was actually “the first Agent that we started developing after the game launched.” With the aim of “add[ing] something that felt familiar to traditional FPS players, but had elements that made it uniquely fit within Valorant,” the robotic menace is the perfect blend of past and future.

Cousart echoes this, noting “outside of the opportunity goals on the roster, to make an agent that felt familiar to traditional FPS players, we kind of wanted to push for some really intuitive and almost ‘back to basics’ type of inputs.”

KAY/O release date

Does KAY/O sound like your new main? Well, luckily you won’t have to wait very long to get your hands on him. Dropping alongside Episode 3, Act 1 on June 22, he’ll be in the game in no time.

So that’s it for all things KAY/O. Keep an eye out for our first impressions, as well as our extensive guide on how to play him.

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In the meantime, though, check out our guides to the Episode 3, Act 1 Battle Pass, as well as the Yr1 Anniversary Pass.

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