VALORANT Reveals Gauntlet: Glitched Game Mode With 16 Players and 8 Teams

VALORANT is getting a new mode called Gauntlet: Glitched on 22 September 2026, putting 16 players into eight teams of two for a series of short 2v2 fights. Instead of locking players into a normal Agent kit, the mode lets each player build a hybrid character by drafting abilities throughout the match.

16 players, 8 teams, pure chaos.

Say hello to the most ambitious game mode VALORANT’s ever made, Gauntlet: Glitched. pic.twitter.com/2AN9RKm82n

— VALORANT (@VALORANT) September 14, 2026

Matches are expected to last around eight to 15 minutes. Players can queue alone or with a friend, with each duo trying to survive long enough to become the final team remaining.

How Gauntlet: Glitched Works

Each round pairs one duo against another for a 2v2 fight. Losing costs the team health, and a duo is eliminated once its health reaches zero.

The format therefore plays differently from a standard VALORANT match. Rather than committing to one Agent and one fixed set of abilities, players gradually assemble their own kit as the match progresses.

Strafe also reports that weapons progress throughout a match, starting with pistols before moving towards more powerful options, including VALORANT’s newly revealed Warden rifle.

Players Draft and Upgrade Agent Abilities

Before rounds, players receive random ability choices that can be added to their hybrid Robo-Agent. Abilities can then be upgraded from Level 1 through Level 3, with stronger versions changing how familiar skills behave.

The examples supplied for Gauntlet: Glitched get considerably stranger than a normal Agent loadout:

• Yoru’s Fakeout: the decoy can be upgraded to fire bullets.
• Skye’s Trailblazer: the scouting creature can grow into a much larger offensive threat.
• Gekko’s Wingman: Wingman can become significantly larger and concuss the first enemy it finds.

The choices are randomised, so teams cannot simply enter with a predetermined build. Players may also get opportunities to randomise their available choices again, although doing so can leave them with a worse set of options.

Fights take place across four Stitched Simulation arenas inspired by existing VALORANT locations. Familiar bomb sites are combined through visible glitching seams and redesigned around the shorter 2v2 encounters.

Read More: VALORANT Reveals New Warden Rifle

Patch 13.06 Also Brings the Warden and Agent Mastery

Gauntlet: Glitched is one part of VALORANT Patch 13.06. The update also introduces the Warden, a new 2,900-credit automatic rifle with a 2x scope and 50 body damage at any range.

Agent progression is changing as well through the new Agent Mastery system. Act Levels will provide seasonal progression that resets each Act, while Lifetime Levels will track longer-term commitment to individual Agents.

Players earn Mastery Points by playing, with bonuses tied to factors including performance and match outcomes. Agent IDs will provide another customisation layer with unlockable elements such as stances, backgrounds and tracked statistics.

Anything already unlocked through the existing Agent Gear system will be retained. Gauntlet: Glitched, the Warden and the Agent Mastery changes are all scheduled to arrive with Patch 13.06 on 22 September 2026.