How to Uninstall Valorant on PC and Mac in 2024? The Complete Guide

Valorant, the game developed by Riot Games, has seen immense success since its launch. Despite its undeniable qualities, you may however wish to uninstall it from your computer, whether to temporarily take a break or permanently because you no longer play it.

Debugbar has therefore created a complete guide to explain in detail how to properly remove Valorant from your Windows PC or Mac, step by step.

How to uninstall Valorant on a Windows PC?

Uninstalling Valorant on a PC running Windows is done in two main steps:

1. First removing the anti-cheat software Riot Vanguard,
2. Then uninstalling the Valorant game itself.

Let’s take a closer look at each step.

Step 1: Disable and Uninstall Riot Vanguard

Riot Vanguard is the anti-cheat system integrated into Valorant. It runs in the background at Windows startup. To be able to completely remove Valorant, you will first need to get rid of Vanguard by following these few steps:

1. Look for the red Vanguard icon in the taskbar at the bottom right of your screen, next to the clock. Right-click on it.
2. In the menu that appears, select the “Quit Vanguard” option.

3. A confirmation window will open, click the “Yes” button to confirm.
4. Vanguard is now disabled, but not yet uninstalled. To do this, go to Windows Settings, then to “Apps” section.
5. In “Apps”, click on “Applications & Features” (or Programs > Programs and Features on Windows 10 and lower).
6. Scroll through the list until you find “Riot Vanguard“. Click on it to select it, then click the “Uninstall” button that appears below.

Let the uninstaller software cleanly remove Riot Vanguard. Once the operation is complete, it is recommended to restart your PC before moving on to uninstalling Valorant.

Step 2: Uninstall Valorant

Now that Riot Vanguard is no longer there to interfere, we can now tackle uninstalling the Valorant game from your Windows PC.

To achieve this you will need to:

1. Go back to Windows Settings, then to “Apps” and finally “Apps & Features“.

2. This time, look for “Valorant” in the list of applications.
3. Select “Valorant”, then click on it and on the “Uninstall” button just below.

4. The uninstaller wizard will launch. Simply follow the on-screen instructions to complete the uninstallation process.
5. Once the uninstallation is complete, restart your computer to finalize everything.
   

At this point, Valorant should normally be completely removed from your Windows PC.

However, some files may still remain in your system. To delete them you will need to:

1. Go to the Local Disk E: folder and find the folder named “Riot Games” in order to delete it (right click > delete).

2. Then, open the Run window (command prompt) and type “%localappdata%” and press Enter.

3. You will then need to find the Valorant folder in the list and delete it (right click > Delete).

As a precaution, you can still check in your file explorer that no residual folders related to the game are still lingering on your hard drive.

Uninstalling Valorant on Mac (macOS)

The method for uninstalling Valorant on a Mac with macOS is slightly different from the one on a Windows PC, but don’t worry, it is just as simple to do. You actually have the choice between two procedures. Let’s take a step-by-step look at each of them.

Method 1: Uninstallation via the Applications folder

The most straightforward way to remove Valorant on Mac is to go through the Applications folder:

1. Open a Finder window, then go to the “Applications” folder either using the sidebar or via the “Go” menu in the menu bar.
2. In the Applications folder window, locate the Valorant icon among the other applications installed on your Mac.
3. Right-click on the Valorant icon. If your mouse or trackpad does not allow right-click, you can also perform a regular click while holding down the Ctrl key on the keyboard.
4. In the contextual menu that then appears, choose the “Move to Trash” option.
5. Valorant thus disappears from the Applications folder to end up in the Trash. To permanently delete it, you still need to empty the Trash. To do this, click the Trash icon in the Dock with the right button or with Ctrl + click, then select “Empty Trash” from the menu.

And voila, in just a few clicks and drag-and-drops, you were able to get rid of Valorant. Let’s now look at the second method.

Method 2: Uninstall Valorant via Launchpad

The Launchpad is an interface that allows quick access to all applications installed on your Mac, and also allows you to easily uninstall some of them, like on an iPhone or iPad. Here’s how to do it for Valorant:

1. First, click the Launchpad icon in your Dock to display the home screen with all your applications.
2. On this iOS-like screen, look for the Valorant icon among the others. If necessary, flip through the pages of icons by swiping sideways.
3. Once the Valorant icon is located, click and hold it. After a few seconds, the icons will start shaking.
4. While the icons are shaking, you should see a small X appear in the top left corner of some of them, including Valorant’s. Click on this X to start uninstalling.
5. A confirmation window will appear, asking if you are sure you want to delete Valorant. Click “Delete” or press Enter to confirm.

The Launchpad will then uninstall Valorant, and its icon will disappear from the list. The game is thus cleanly and easily removed from your Mac.

Whether you chose the Applications folder method or the Launchpad one to uninstall Valorant, the software should now be completely uninstalled from your macOS system. As a precaution, you can still check via Finder that no isolated game-related files remain on your disk.

How to Reinstall Valorant After Uninstalling?

Let’s now assume you changed your mind after uninstalling Valorant (because it really is an awesome game)… No worries, reinstalling the game on your computer is a piece of cake.

To install Valorant, you will just need to:

1. Go to the official Valorant website using your preferred web browser.
2. On the homepage, click the big red “Play Now” button. This will automatically start downloading the Valorant installer.
3. Once the download is complete, open the downloaded file, probably named “Install_Valorant.exe” on PC or “Valorant.dmg” on Mac. The setup wizard will start.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions. You just need to click “Next” or “Continue” validating the default options to reinstall Valorant without any issues.

There, Valorant is now reinstalled on your computer. All that’s left is to launch the game, log in with your Riot Games account if necessary, and you can play like before!