Split Returns, Bind and Breeze Removed for Valorant Episode 6 Map Pool

After nearly half a year, Split will return to the Competitive and Unrated map rotation at the start of Valorant Episode 6 Act I, Riot Games announced Friday.

The decision is said to have been made with the same procedure Riot utilized back in June 2022, which hones in on its desire to preserve its 7-map pool for tournament best-of-5's. Since Valorant will also be receiving a new map at the start of Episode 6, Riot opted to remove two existing maps from the pool in Bind and Breeze.

These moves will be reflected at the start of Episode 6 with Patch 6.0, which Riot says will be released in early January.

There is no date set for the returns of Bind and Breeze to Unrated and Competitive, but the two maps will still be available in Spike Rush, custom games and other game modes.

"Split is back!" Riot Games' blog post reads. "We know a lot of you were sad to see this one go, so we’re very happy to bring this back to you all (with a few updates as well…) Not a lot to add here really. Lots of you wanted it back and it makes sense with the other pool shifts. We’re looking forward to seeing how everyone plays the map with all the new Agents and meta shifts that have happened since Split left the rotation.

"For Breeze, we feel like this map has some room to improve in terms of Agents and team comp diversity, as well as some opportunities for simplification of the space. And for Bind, it’s mostly about strategic diversity. We’d like to open up more play around the teleporters and potentially rethink how teams execute, and defend against executes, on both sites."

This announcement joins a slate of other developments that appear primed to breathe some new life into the game in the coming weeks, including major nerfs to Chamber and a prolonged return of the Night Market.