Uninstalling Valorant might seem like a straightforward process, but navigating it successfully is crucial if you want to clear space on your hard drive or reinstall the game later. Here’s how you can properly remove Valorant from your computer without leaving any unwanted files behind.
Step 1: Exit All Applications
Before proceeding with uninstallation, make sure that Valorant and Riot Games Launcher are completely closed. This includes closing any background processes associated with these applications to ensure a clean removal of the game.
Step 2: Uninstall Via Settings
Windows Users
- Open Control Panel: Navigate to “Programs” or “Uninstall a Program.”
- Locate Valorant: Scroll through your installed programs and find Riot Games Launcher.
- Click on Valorant and select “Uninstall.” Follow the prompts until the process is complete.
For users who have recently updated their systems to newer Windows versions, the process might slightly differ.
Step 3: Remove Residual Files
Simply using the Control Panel or Application Installer might not remove all of Riot Games’ files such as temporary game files and cache. Therefore, it’s essential to manually delete these:
- Clearing Cache:
- Navigate to
C:\ProgramData\Riot Games\cache
(or your specific user folder). - Delete the contents inside this folder.
- Navigate to
- Removing Local Storage:
- Head to
C:\ProgramData\Riot Games
and look for.RiotGames
. This can often carry traces of older game builds and temporary settings. - Carefully delete files here, avoiding system folders like ‘configstore.’
- Head to
Step 4: Clear Registry Entries
Registry entries associated with Valorant or Riot Games might still exist after using the standard uninstall procedure. To safely clean these out:
- Open the Registry Editor by typing
regedit
in the Windows search bar and pressing Enter. - Navigate to specific game paths:
- For instance,
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Riot Games]
- Manually find all Riot Games-related keys and delete them carefully.
- For instance,
Step 5: Verify Completion
After uninstallation and cleanup, it’s good practice to verify that Valorant isn’t running anywhere in your system. Open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) to ensure there are no lingering processes related to the game or Riot client.
This method should leave you with a clean system ready for any future installation of Valorant without having interference from older version files. However, always be cautious when dealing with the Registry Editor and consider backing up your registry before making changes.
Uninstallation can sometimes feel tedious, but taking these steps ensures everything is removed properly and makes reinstalling smoother in the future if needed.