Riot Games has confirmed Valorant agents Raze and Killjoy are in a romantic relationship, confirming them as either lesbians or bisexual.
The official Valorant Twitter account shared a series of in-character tweets, detailing the vacation of Phoenix, Neon, Killjoy, and Yoru in Raze’ home of Salvador, Brazil. A narrative also slowly builds in the background, as we see Killjoy struggling to find the right clothes when shopping, Raze getting a package at her workshop, and Raze giving that package to Killjoy.
Some had already guessed what was coming next. In the following tweet, Killjoy and Raze are shown kissing. While devoid of text, it is practically confirmed the two are now an item, and both are either gay or bisexual.
The final tweet showing the gang heading back home shows Killjoy has seemingly stayed with Raze.
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GameRant notes in their report that the romance had been hinted at for a while, and hoped for much before that. Initially, Killjoy and Raze were close friends with a healthy sense of rivalry. Both are tech savvy, but utilize very different methodologies and tactics (along with playstyles in Valorant).
Creative Director David Nottingham (Riot_KingKut) was asked about the pair’s relationship in 2020 during a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) over the shooter’s lore.
“Are Killjoy and Raze actually together? Or do they at least have a relation of sorts, platonic or romantic?” 5i5TEMA asked. “They definitely seem to be friends,” Nottingham alluded. “Lots in common and lots of differences. A good basis for any type of relationship.”
In the 2021 Raze // The Color of the Town music video, we briefly see a cameo by Killjoy in the intro, along with a brief shot of a Killjoy doll in Raze’s workshop.
An April Fools joke that year — a fake dating sim titled “Agents of Romance” — provided yet another hint to frustrate supporters of the “Nanobomb” ship. The (fake) in-game dialogue shows Cypher saying “Since you asked, I did see Raze and Killjoy picnicking on the beach. All this dating drama… Good thing I’m married.”
Riot Games have had gay characters in their games before, such as League of Legends’ Neeko, as confirmed by Narrative Lead Mattthew Garcia-Dunn on Twitter (without word from the developer, unlike Raze and Killjoy). However, Neeko was announced several months after Riot Games were accused of sexual harassment and discrimination by former and current employees in a Kotaku exposé in 2018.
Likewise, while Blizzard Entertainment announced both Tracer and Soldier 76 from Overwatch were gay, the announcements were overshadowed by the companies numerous controversies — be it a Hearthstone champion being stripped of his winnings for declaring “Free Hong Kong” during the livestream, or the “frat boy workplace culture” and sexual harassment of female employees.