Riot Games’ tactical shooter Valorant has exploded in popularity since its release, drawing millions of players and an ever-growing esports audience. But while watching professional matches is straightforward—thanks to Riot’s broadcast team—spectating casual or ranked games comes with significant limitations. Here’s what you need to know if you want to watch friends or analyze gameplay in Valorant.
Official Spectator Options
The only built-in way to spectate a live Valorant match is through a Custom Game. When creating a custom lobby, the host can assign players to the “Observer” slot instead of placing them on the Attacker or Defender teams.
Observers have access to a powerful suite of tools designed for esports broadcasts, including:
- Free camera movement across the map.
- The ability to follow individual players from a first- or third-person perspective.
- Overlays that display player health, abilities, and team economy.
This makes custom lobbies the go-to method for scrimmages, tournaments, or casual watch parties within a private group.
Limitations on Spectating Regular Matches
For Unrated, Competitive, and Swiftplay queues, Riot does not allow external spectators. This restriction is deliberate, aimed at preventing unfair advantages such as real-time callouts from outside observers.
That means there’s currently no way to jump in and watch a friend’s live ranked match directly through the client. Instead, players rely on workarounds:
- Discord screen sharing: Teammates or friends can broadcast their gameplay in real-time through third-party apps like Discord.
- Streaming platforms: Many players stream their games on Twitch, YouTube, or Kick, which allows others to watch without interfering in the match.
Are There Replay or Watch Party Features?
As of September 2025, Valorant still does not include a public replay system. Players cannot load past matches to rewatch rounds, study mistakes, or create highlight reels inside the client.
Those who want to review games must use external recording tools such as OBS Studio, Nvidia ShadowPlay, or applications like Outplayed to manually capture gameplay. The lack of an official replay feature has been a frequent community request, and Riot has acknowledged interest in adding it in the future.
How to Set Up a Custom Spectator Session
If you want to watch friends play directly in-game, here’s how to do it:
- Create a Custom Game lobby from the main menu.
- Fill both Attacker and Defender slots with players or bots to start the match.
- Assign spectators by dragging players into the “Observer” section before launching the game.
- Start the match—observers can now use free camera controls and switch perspectives as the game plays out.
This setup is especially popular in community tournaments or when teams want to analyze strategy in real time.
The Bottom Line
At present, spectating in Valorant is limited to custom games through the Observer role. Regular matchmaking remains closed to spectators to preserve competitive integrity, meaning friends can’t simply hop in to watch live. Until Riot introduces an official replay or spectator feature for public matches, the only alternatives are external streaming or screen sharing.
For now, fans who want a front-row seat to the action outside of custom lobbies will need to tune in via Twitch streams, YouTube, or organized esports broadcasts.
Written by:
Christian