Riot Games has confirmed that the next Agent to join Valorant is Gekko, a rookie from Los Angeles who “leads a tight-knit crew of heartbreaking creatures.”
The announcement came during the final day of Valorant Champions Tour 2023: Lock In, validating this week’s leaks. The full list of Gekko’s abilities is also revealed, with each ability corresponding to one of the creatures the agent commands.
Dizzy (E) involves sending Gekko Dizzy in a direction. The creature then shoots plasma at enemies in sight, flashing them. The spinner then becomes a ball that you can interact with, allowing you to reuse the ability after a short cooldown.
Wingman (Q) works similarly, but instead of flashing the opponent, it fires a concussive blast at the first enemy it sees. Interestingly, if targeting the location of the spike, Gekko can either send Wingman to the factory or defuse the spike (he can only do the former if the spike is in his inventory) using the alternate fire option. Like Dizzy, Wingman becomes a spherical ball that can be picked up for reuse.
Mosh Pit (C) is a grenade that repeats itself across an area and then explodes.
Gekko’s ultimate Thrash(X) is a drone-type ability, allowing him to remotely aim and detonate Thrash, trapping enemies within its blast radius. Once again, Thrash becomes a spherical ball that can be caught. However, Thrash can only be reused once per round.
Being from Los Angeles, Gekko represents a city with a very diverse community. Speaking of creating an authentic representation of the city through the Gekko, narrative writer Joe Killeen said that the Gekko is someone whose “upbringing was shaped by the blending of two different worlds: the cultural heritage of their parents, and the influences of their hometown.”
Killeen said they narrowed their search down to East Los Angeles, honing in on the Mexican-American community there. Next, they spoke to the Riot Related Identity Group and Riot Mexico before engaging in focus groups with the local community and first-generation citizens to revive the Gekko.
While no official release date has been set for Gekko, Valorant Episode 6 Act 2 begins March 7.