VALORANT 2026 season: “Welcome to my world” cinematic explained

The 2026 VALORANT season is just around the corner, and the latest cinematic has already left fans speechless. As the new season approaches, new theories are beginning to surface, sparked by the latest cinematic, “Welcome to My World,” which brings plenty to unpack. Let’s break it down.

If you haven't watched the cinematic yet, it is already available on the VALORANT official YouTube channel.

At the beginning of the 2026 VALORANT cinematic, we see Chamber being hit during a mission. While Viper tries to go back and rescue him, Brimstone holds her. Chambers ends up in a critical situation, on the brink of life and death. The overlined coordinates of Omega Earth suggest that Chamber was killed in combat. After witnessing her lover’s death, Viper became someone else, a person consumed by revenge.

It is important to remember that while Viper and Chamber are a canon couple in the Omega Earth, their relationship was not confirmed in the Alpha Earth. While the agents have the same aspect in each universe, all of them lived different experiences and are entirely different individuals.

As a result, Viper lost control of her emotions and developed a grudge against Brimstone for his decisions. In the 2026 cinematic, we also see Omega Sage almost dying due to an advanced state of crystallization.

This moment brings us back to the last cinematic, where Alpha Sage put herself in a critical state to save Killjoy's life. Can this be an "eye-opener" to the Alpha Earth? Is Sage slowly dying by using her powers?

Viper and Sage have known each other since before the days of the PROTOCOL. While the lore suggests that their friendship deteriorated over time due to a “situation in the past,” it is now clear that Viper still regards Sage as someone very special.

Omega Earth is basically collapsing due to the radianite technology. The recent cinematics have been showing this universe being slowly destroyed. Yoru is trying to save the children from being caught in the middle of the explosion.

In that moment, we get to watch the frustrating reality that heroes can't save everyone. This is shown through Yoru’s choice between saving the children or the mother trapped under the wreckage. Yoru did everything he could, but ended up not saving everyone, and that perception was shown in his sad expression.

However, one of the things that has been lifting some theories is the fact that the children are being affected by the explosion. Can this mean they will have sequels in the future?

Since Yoru uses this energy all the time, this could also imply that he can have long-term sequels as well. If the kids are seen with scars after a short time in contact with that power, how can Yoru not be affected by it? This theory can also be opening doors for more Yoru lore dropping during the year.

In the cinematic, we also see Breach helping disabled children by making them prosthetics, which is a cute little detail.

Moments later, Alpha Sova removes Omega Sova’s eye, blinding him and revealing how Sova ultimately lost his eye and came to use a glass one. However, a little bit further in the video, we see Omega Sova blinding Alpha Sova with an arrow. This shows us the current rivalry between both universes, with both Sova's hating each other.

Some lore fans believe this was a way for Sova to show the team he is still viable as a member, even without one eye. In some conversations with Sage, she says that Sova lost more than an eye. He also lost his pride. This quote can be directly connected to this moment.

The cinematic shows us Viper experiencing panic attacks and nightmares, seeking her mask for some psychological reassurance. Dreams of Chamber hugging her, impossible in reality, along with Sage’s coma, clearly trigger her desire for revenge. Then, she decides to take Brimstone's life. An eye for an eye. The team fully supports her, showing a general discontent with Brimstone's leadership.

Viper's revenge led the entire team to the Alpha universe, with the only goal to eliminate the "other version of themselves." As far as we know, that can be the location of Reyna's sanctuary, a safe place that she built for those she aims to protect. Her, Killjoy, Raze, Brimstone, and Sova ended up being ambushed by the Omega team. Once again, we see Viper and Brimstone fighting, showing Viper's desire to kill the general in all Earths.

In the background, we see a shadow figure that resembles Chamber. This is all in Viper’s head, with Chamber catalyzing the war in her mind. After seeing him, she becomes even angrier and frustrated. She ends up disabling him, but it is not clear if Alpha Brimstone has also been killed.

Note: This is pure speculation from the little information shown in the VALORANT 2026 cinematic. We will wait for Riot Games to give us more updates in the future.

During the cinematic, Riot Games shared with us the coordinates to Mexico, more specifically to an area close to Paricutín, a Mexican volcano. At the moment, we have no map located in the country, which can be a hint to a possible new map located in México. This would also be an interesting connection to Latin America, as the first international event of the VALORANT esports season is happening in Chile.

If you don't remember, Reyna is from Mexico, which made the attack even more personal. In the lore, Reyna's sister, Lucia, is in a critical health condition. She is only alive due to Viper's technology. To save her sister, Reyna goes on various missions to gather souls and transfer their "life energy" to her sister. While Viper is allegedly trying to save Lucia, Reyna still questions whether Viper is running experiments on her sister, making their relationship very tense.

That's all about the VALORANT 2026 cinematic for now. Stick around for more VALORANT news, guides, and updates on esports.gg.