How to Leave a VALORANT Match or Surrender

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To end a VALORANT match early, call a surrender vote: type /surrender, /concede, or /ff in chat, or choose Surrender from the in-game menu. This starts a team vote; it does not immediately close the game. If you only want to close the client, use Exit to Desktop when available. Leaving or disconnecting from a matchmade game instead can result in penalties.

How to surrender and end a match early

Wait until after round 4 has started in either half; Riot’s current support guidance says this is when a surrender vote becomes available.
Type /surrender, /concede, or /ff in chat, or open the in-game menu and select Surrender.
Your team votes. In Unrated, at least 80% must approve; in Competitive, every player must approve. A skipped vote counts as a no, and each team can call one vote per phase.
If the vote passes, the next round is forfeited and the match ends at its start.

These controls and rules are described in Riot Games Player Support’s Surrenders in VALORANT article, published June 1, 2026.

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Which option should you use?

What you want to do	Use	What happens
End the match early	Surrender vote	Your team votes; the match ends only if the vote passes.
Leave a match where leaving is permitted	Leave Match, if available	The game may lock this control when it does not permit leaving. Do not assume it is penalty-free in every mode or situation.
Close the game client	Exit to Desktop, if available	Closes the client; it does not surrender or otherwise end a match for your team.

Riot’s Patch Notes 1.02 documented an Exit to Desktop flow with a confirmation popup, but that 2020 interface note does not establish that the current controls look the same on every platform or version. See VALORANT Patch Notes 1.02.

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Leaving a custom game is different

Riot’s Patch Notes 0.49, published May 12, 2020, said the Leave Match button in the Esc menu let a player permanently leave a custom game without penalty. That note also said exiting the client or using Alt+F4 left the player able to return to the custom game. This is historical documentation, not confirmation of current behavior for every custom-game context. Riot also warned in those notes that abandoning matchmade games could lead to queue restrictions. Read VALORANT Patch Notes 0.49.

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Why not use Alt+F4 or disconnect in a matchmade game?

Force-closing the client or disconnecting is not a substitute for surrendering. Riot’s current Penalties and Bans FAQ, published June 2, 2026, describes AFK and queue-dodging as sanctionable behavior, with consequences varying by offense severity and behavior history. Riot’s Community Pact also identifies abandoning games—including intentional disconnections and AFK behavior—as conduct inconsistent with playing to win.