Astra became VALORANT's fifteenth Agent, and meant that players were waiting for Agent 16 to come in Episode 2 Act 3. Riot skipped over this release, instead dropping the Breeze map; but we know Agent 16 is coming and we already have information on them.
The usual teasers for Agents haven't shown up yet, so there has been little to no information for Agent 16.
However, shortly after 2.09 went live, dataminers found code relating to 'Grenadier' hiding away. While this could indicate the playstyle of the new Agent, it is simply a codename for now so may not actually reflect anything to do with the Agent, or could be for a future Agent.
In a blog post, Riot provided new information on Agent 16; including about their abilities.
While Grenadier gives an idea of explosives, potentially similar to Raze's Paint Shells, it is the "moments where you must rely on your gunplay" which I find most interesting.
Does this mean this Agent will have some sort of 'silence', disabling enemies' ability to use their abilities? This would therefore force players to rely on their gunplay.
The blog post confirmed that Agent 16 will be here for Patch 3.0, which is due to launch on June 22, 2021; meaning we should see the new Agent this month.
Following on from the VALORANT Masters, the new cinematic was released. DUALITY shows Agents fighting to disarm a Spike, much like players would in-game, before finishing with a Mirror Universe confirmation.
