How to Get the Free Hot New Engine Gun Buddy in Valorant

Summary:

The Hot New Engine Gun Buddy is a free cosmetic to celebrate Valorant’s big engine update.

Riot is giving this gun buddy to players as a thank-you gift for sticking around and downloading this patch.

No special mission or purchases are necessary; simply log in during Patch 11.02 and it’s yours.

If you’re a collector of cool free stuff that shows your love for the game, you’re in for a treat. Valorant Patch 11.02 has a little something waiting for you: the Hot New Engine gun buddy. Think of it as a token of appreciation for staying strong with the game for one of, if not the largest, updates in Valorant’s history. Not only that, but this limited item is definitely one to pick up, as it won’t be around for long!

What is the Hot New Engine Gun Buddy?

The “Hot New Engine” Gun Buddy is a one-of-a-kind, commemorative cosmetic item added to Valorant with Patch 11.02. It celebrates a huge technical achievement for the game, specifically, the transition from Unreal Engine 4.27 to Unreal Engine 5.3. The gun buddy marks a major transition to a new layer of game engine technology and should help with long-term improvements.

Sure, players may only see a few different visuals and gameplay changes right away. Still, this engine overhaul is the start of future progress and a smoother experience across a variety of specs. The “Hot New Engine” Gun Buddy is a stylish, techy charm that celebrates this leap forward.

Why is Riot Giving Away This Gun Buddy?

To celebrate a huge milestone in Valorant, upgrading from Unreal Engine 4.27 to Unreal Engine 5.3, Riot Games is giving out the “Hot New Engine” gun buddy for free. The patch process for this achievement in patch 11.02 is a massive backend improvement. And, it will open up a ton of new possibilities for future updates, performance, optimizations, and development freedom in general.

While the engine migration isn’t a direct change to gameplay, it still requires a large download. It can be a pain for players since it requires up to 30GB! Riot’s offering the free gun buddy as a way to say “thank you for being patient during this update”, and generally just a small token of appreciation because the update size is larger than a usual patch.

How to Get the Hot New Engine Gun Buddy

To get the Hot New Engine gun buddy in Valorant, all you have to do is log in while patch 11.02 is active. When you download and install patch 11.02, simply launching the game will automatically add the gun buddy. There are no missions to pull through, no purchases to be made, and no codes to redeem. This gun buddy is a free cosmetic reward for you, from Riot. It’s only available for a limited time to thank players for being patient with the big patch download amount and transition to secure storage.

However, this chance is a limited-time offer just during the active time of Patch 11.02. Patch 11.02 should last until around August 12, 2025, at which point Patch 11.03 will come out. Until then, the Hot New Engine gun buddy will not be claimable, not sold in the store, or available in a bundle or tiered in the Battle Pass. Also, this gun buddy is available for all platforms. Therefore, every Valorant player all over the world can enjoy claiming this free item as a unique memento.

Conclusion

That’s an easy way to pick up the Hot New Engine gun buddy for free and flaunt that you are a part of the next-gen era of Valorant! Just don’t forget to download Patch 11.02 and hop into the game before the next update comes along. It’s a collector’s item with limited availability, and a great way to flex your commitment to the evolution of Valorant. So get yours now while it’s still hot!

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