If you’ve been hoarding Valorant Points (VP) for months waiting to grab your favorite premium skins at a steep discount, you’ve probably asked when does Valorant Night Market come out more than once. The limited-time personalized skin sale is one of Riot’s most popular recurring Valorant events, and it’s not uncommon for players to save hundreds of VP on skins they use every single match. But the lack of a fixed public schedule leaves a lot of players guessing, and missing a drop can mean waiting months for another chance to get that coveted Vandal or Operator skin for half price. I’ve been playing Valorant since its closed beta launch, and I’ve tracked every Night Market run to nail down the patterns, rules, and tricks to get the most out of every sale.
When Does Valorant Night Market Come Out? Official Release Patterns
There is no fixed annual schedule for the Valorant Night Market, but Riot follows a fairly consistent release cadence that you can use to predict upcoming drops. Over the past three years, the Night Market has launched roughly every 3 months, with each run lasting exactly 14 days from start to finish. Typical launch windows fall near the start of each quarter, usually in the first two weeks of January, April, July, and October, though there are occasional small shifts to avoid overlapping with major VCT tournaments or big patch drops.
Riot never announces a Night Market more than 5 days in advance, and most official teases come through the game’s main menu or official Valorant social media accounts. You won’t get an email notification, so it’s a good idea to check the in-game news tab once a week if you’re expecting a drop. For example, the last Night Market launched in mid-July 2024, and Riot only posted the first teaser 3 days before it went live, with no prior hints that it was coming earlier than usual. The only time we’ve seen a major gap between runs was in 2022, when Riot pushed a planned Night Market back two weeks to avoid conflicting with the Champions 2022 event rewards.
How the Valorant Night Market Works for All Account Types
Every player’s Night Market is completely personalized based on their in-game skin usage and purchase history, so you’ll never get the same set of offers as your duo queue partner. When the event goes live, you’ll see 6 random skin offers, each with a discount ranging from 10% to 70% off the original store price. You can’t refresh your Night Market offers once they’re unlocked, so what you see on day one is what you get for the full two weeks of the event.
There are a few hard rules for what skins can and can’t appear in your offers. First, you’ll never get a skin you already own, so you don’t have to worry about wasting a discount on something you already bought. Second, melee skins are rare, making up less than 10% of all Night Market offers across all players, so don’t go into the event expecting a discounted knife. Champions and VCT exclusive skins never appear in the Night Market, so if you’re holding out for a 2023 Champions Vandal, you’ll have to wait for a separate official rerun of that bundle instead. A common misconception is that higher-ranked players get better offers, but Riot has confirmed that account rank, playtime, or competitive performance has no impact on the skins or discounts you receive.
Pro Tips to Make the Most of Your Next Night Market Drop
A little preparation before a predicted Night Market launch can save you hundreds of VP and help you avoid regretful purchases. I’ve made my fair share of mistakes with past Night Markets, including blowing all my VP on a random bundle a week before a drop, so these tips come from real experience missing out on great discounts.
- Track your VP spending 4 weeks before a predicted drop: If you spend all your points on limited-time bundles or battle pass tiers right before the market launches, you’ll have no funds left to grab that skin you’ve been wanting for months when it shows up at 60% off. I set a personal rule to only spend VP on battle pass levels I can’t earn through play in the 30 days leading up to a predicted Night Market.
- Make a wishlist of 5-10 skins you don’t own yet: Write down the exact names of skins for weapons you use at least 30% of your matches, so you can quickly judge if an offer is worth grabbing instead of wasting 20 minutes debating if a discount on a skin you’ll never use is a good deal.
- Don’t buy low-tier skins you won’t use: Even if a Sheriff skin is 70% off, if you only play support agents and never pick up the Sheriff, it’s a waste of VP that could go to a skin you’ll actually equip every match. I once bought a 60% off Ghost skin I never used, and I still regret wasting those 200 VP.
- Check for hidden offer restrictions: Some limited-edition event skins, like those from seasonal holiday events, are excluded from the Night Market, so don’t hold out for a specific event skin if that’s your only goal for the drop.
It’s also a good idea to log in on the first day of the event to check your offers, even if you don’t plan on buying anything right away. You don’t have to purchase skins immediately, and you’ll have the full two weeks to save up more VP if you get an offer for a more expensive skin you want. I once saved up an extra 1500 VP over 10 days to buy a discounted Prime Axe that showed up in my Night Market, and it’s still my most used melee skin two years later.
Common Valorant Night Market Myths Debunked
Since Riot doesn’t share a lot of details about how the Night Market algorithm works, a lot of false rumors have spread across the Valorant community over the years. Most of these myths are harmless, but some can lead to you wasting VP or missing out on good deals, so it’s important to know what’s true and what’s not.
One of the most common myths is that you can refresh your Night Market offers by making a small purchase or logging out and back in multiple times. This is completely false, as Riot locks in your offers as soon as the event goes live for your region, and no action on your end will change them. Sharing your Night Market screenshots on social media has no impact on your future offers, another common myth that started when players noticed better discounts after posting their bad offers online. That’s just coincidence, as the algorithm doesn’t track social media activity at all.
Another myth is that new accounts get better discounts or rarer skins to encourage them to spend money. I’ve tested this with three different smurf accounts over the past two years, and all of them got the same range of discounts as my main account, with fewer high-end skins because they had less playtime to show skin preferences. The only way to get more high-end skins in your Night Market is to regularly use the weapons those skins are for, so the algorithm knows you’re likely to buy them.
At the end of the day, the Valorant Night Market is one of the best ways to get premium skins for a fraction of their regular price, as long as you plan ahead and know what to expect. Knowing when does Valorant Night Market come out helps you save your VP for the skins you actually want, avoid impulse purchases that waste your money, and skip the frustration of missing a drop because you weren’t prepared. Next time you see a teaser for the Night Market drop, you’ll know exactly what to do to get the most out of your offers, no matter what skins show up in your personalized list.
