First leaks of the new Warden rifle in Valorant

A few hours ago, dataminers reported finding references to a new weapon called Warden in the game's files. At first there were only concept images, but now the first in-game screenshot of Warden has appeared, showing what it will look like in the game.

After dataminer valohabercisi published a photo of Warden from the game, the community noticed that the new rifle strongly resembles the SG 553 from Counter-Strike in terms of appearance and design. This similarity is especially noticeable in the scope, which looks almost identical to the one on the weapon from CS.

This is the main shared feature. The SG 553 has a built-in 3x scope, which significantly reduces recoil and increases accuracy, but slows the player down. Warden, according to dataminers, will get the same kind of built-in 2x scope, along with a similar movement speed reduction to 4.104 m/s in ADS versus a base of 5.4 m/s.

However, the two rifles differ significantly in ammo capacity. The SG 553 has a 30-round magazine. Warden, according to the leak, will have only 18 rounds in the magazine + 90 in reserve — even less than the Vandal or Phantom (25 rounds). This smaller magazine, combined with a lower fire rate, hints that Riot may be building Warden around higher damage per shot, similar to how the SG 553 in CS2 ignores part of the damage reduction from armor.

If the leak is confirmed, Warden would effectively become Valorant's equivalent of the SG 553: an expensive rifle with a built-in scope, a slower fire rate, and a smaller magazine, designed for precise long-range engagements rather than close-range spray. Whether this concept can successfully carve out a place in Valorant's meta, where the Vandal and Phantom already dominate, remains to be seen — the release date is still unknown. Riot Games has not officially commented on the information.