Valorant Lore Story KAYO Explained

Almost every game in existence has its lore and story to share. Be it Apex Legends, or even Riot Games’ tactical shooter Valorant, giving players thrills with stories about each agent with every ability.

One Valorant agent with a mysterious past who uses his utility to disable enemy abilities is KAYO. So let’s take a look at the lore story KAYO Valorant!

Some basic Valorant lore first: in the near future exists a resource called Radianite that gave each agent their powers and every ability, hence their names Radiants. The ones who aren’t Radiants but use Radianite like Cypher aren’t true Radiants. There’s the Kingdom corporation that uses Radianite to power 3/4 of the world’s energy source. There are also multiple and parallel universes that don’t have Radianite, and one specific Mirror World crosses into our world to steal it with the spike. But the Mirror World isn’t the only one that interacts with our original world.

Where did KAYO Come From Valorant?

Unlike other agents with origins from countries, such as Viper from North America, KAYO doesn’t come from any country. That’s because KAYO actually comes from the future. More specifically, an alternate reality that takes place in the future. With his short fuse always sitting so near the ultimate edge, KAYO was released in the game in Valorant Episode 3 Act 1.

This lore wasn’t given directly to players, hence why KAYO fans were thirsty to learn his true motive. So what’s the future like in Valorant’s lore that made KAYO come back in our timeline?

What does KAYO Stand For Valorant?

The name KAYO is written in such a way that it shows it has a deeper meaning. And we know it: KAYO stands for Kill All Your Opponents. This is because in the future we mentioned previously, there was a war between Radiants and humans that resulted in entire nations being destroyed by the Radiants. And every beloved agent had chosen a side in the war, with the Radiants becoming more powerful indicated by KAYO voice lines like: "Their Astra doesn't protect reality, she destroys worlds. I would know."

Because of this war, humans had to create a weapon that disabled Radianite powers for each of the opposing agents. Hence KAYO was born, with the single purpose and ability to disable powers, blind their sight for a short duration, and deal lethal damage to the enemies with his Haven lineups. KILL ALL YOUR OPPONENTS, that’s why it’s important in KAYO’s lore. But players were left asking: who created KAYO and each ability of his?

Did KJ Create KAYO?

This is mostly theory, so take it with a grain of salt. The chances are high that Killjoy actually created KAYO to fight in the Radiant war. It would firstly make logic since Killjoy has made a lot of advanced technology already, so in the future KAYO would be an easy robot to create. Secondly are small details and symbols across KAYO that reminisce Killjoy’s style.

We already know that Killjoy loves Brimstone as her leader, and we’ll see that KAYO has a deeper connection with Brimstone lore-wise. Before we dabble into that, let’s take a closer look at the future Radiant war and the details that KAYO leaves for us.

Why does KAYO Hate Reyna Valorant?

If there is a war, there needs to be a leader. So in the war from the future where KAYO comes from, we know the Radiant’s war leader is Reyna. And lore-wise, we know that she’s obsessive with power, so no wonder a giant radiant defying robot KAYO, which can disable each enemy's ability, would be created to take her down. We even get a direct reference to this from a KAYO voice line: "Another Reyna. I killed her in the war, I'll kill her again."

KAYO was programmed to kill Reyna and put a stop to her reign. And he succeeded, coming into our world to prevent the same from happening again. That’s when KAYO takes a step into a portal, enters our world, and starts helping out the VALORANT Protocol as Agent 16! Although he helps the VALORANT Protocol, he shows particular interest in one agent.

Are Brimstone and KAYO Related?

As we mentioned, KAYO was fighting in the future war. And a lot of details lead to that KAYO was fighting with or under command of Brimstone. We can first notice this from 2 player cards: The Versus player card showing Brimstone and KAYO fighting alongside each other, and the Memory Log player card from the KAYOs contract that shows KAYO possibly holding Brimstone after he was killed in the war. Another detail alluding to this is a KAYO voice line towards Brim: "Your second chance, Brimstone. I won't fail you again."

There’s also the  KAYO easter egg that proves KAYO’s and Brim’s brotherly relationship even more. If you finish the KAYOs contract, obtain his firearm classic, equip the firearm classic, put on the Memory Chip gun buddy from the contract on the classic, equip the Memory Log player card and play specifically Brimstone in a match, the gun buddy will open up showing a different gun buddy. So we know KAYO’s future and his relationship with Brimstone, but what’s next for this old, yet new Valorant agent in Valorant’s lore?

What’s next for KAYO in the Valorant Lore and Story?

With every new agent and patch update in Valorant, players are left to ask even more questions about previous agents' lore. Likewise, KAYO is a bit of a mystery right now, since we don’t even know his actual creator. So we can expect KAYO lore in the future, but until then visit the Valorant Lore Hub!