Is VALORANT Down? Planned Server Maintenance August 18 for Act 5

VALORANT is planning some server maintenance, so players might not be able to access the game. Here’s a quick recap.

Is VALORANT Down? August 18 Server Maintenance

If you’re trying to log in to VALORANT this week, you may notice that you’re having a hard time getting into the game. Don’t worry, this is actually normal. The game has scheduled a planned maintenance period on Tuesday, August 18. During this time, you won’t be able to join servers, enter any game mode queues, or log in.

The maintenance will start at 4:30 Pacific Time (PDT). The exact time will vary depending on the player’s region and server location. Here’s a quick conversion for players in other zones:

• Pacific (PDT): 4:30
• Central (CDT): 6:30
• Eastern (EDT): 7:30
• Brazil: 8:30
• Britain (BST): 12:30
• Central Europe (CEST): 1:30
• Japan / Korea (JST/KST): 8:30

Riot Games first started warning players about this on August 14. You might notice a small banner in your game client that says ‘Maintenance Planned for 08/18/2026.’

Why is VALORANT Down?

Most of VALORANT’s main updates fall on a Tuesday, which is part of Riot Games’ dedicated schedule. The August 18 maintenance period is no exception. VALORANT’s August 18 downtime will bring in the Patch 13.03 update, which will have several key features. Most importantly, it will refresh the map pool, bringing Abyss back into rotation. Meanwhile, Split and Breeze will leave the circuit for now. Check out our guide to the best Abyss Agents, strategies, and plant spots here.

This patch will also launch VALORANT Season 2026 Act 5, with a soft rank reset. Players will need to re-enter Placements to confirm their new ranks. You’ll also probably see plenty of fresh cosmetic options available once it’s complete, since there will be an entirely new Battlepass. As always, there will be Agent balance changes and bug fixes too.

When Will VALORANT Be Back Up?

Usually, VALORANT’s maintenance periods are over within a couple hours. They vary in how long they take, but since the updates are already planned out, they tend to be pretty efficient. Plus, Riot typically delivers the patches during low traffic hours, when most players aren’t online.

Stay tuned for more VALORANT esports and in-game news.