How to Uninstall Valorant and Riot Vanguard Instantly

To completely uninstall Valorant, the system tray Vanguard icon must be closed before removing Riot Vanguard and the game itself via the Windows settings menu. Skipping this precise order or failing to manually purge remnant local AppData folders will leave persistent background services active on the system.

Because Riot Vanguard operates as a kernel-level anti-cheat, standard removal methods often fail when background services lock game directories. That same low-level access is why players are frequently told to reinstall Vanguard when a faulty update starts freezing PCs mid-session, and why the removal order below matters.

Shut Down Active Riot Processes

Before touching the Windows Settings menu, close all background processes to prevent the uninstallation wizard from freezing. Expand the Windows system tray in the bottom-right corner of the taskbar by clicking the caret icon. Locate the red Vanguard shield icon, right-click it, select Advanced, and click Uninstall Vanguard. Alternatively, click Exit Vanguard to shut down the active background processes.

Uninstall Riot Vanguard First

1. Open the Windows Settings menu by pressing the Win + I shortcut.
2. Navigate to Apps, click Installed Apps (or Apps & Features in Windows 10), and find Riot Vanguard in the list.
3. Click the three-dot menu next to Riot Vanguard, select Uninstall, and confirm the Windows prompt.
4. Restart the PC immediately to flush the active system driver from memory before continuing.

Uninstall the Valorant Game Client

1. Press Win + I to return to the Settings application.
2. Select Apps and go to Installed Apps.
3. Scroll to Valorant, click the three-dot menu, choose Uninstall, and follow the installer instructions.
4. If the goal is to permanently clean the computer, locate the Riot Client launcher in the same application list, click Uninstall, and confirm its removal.

System Cleanup Requirements and Residual Files

Running the removal with the correct privileges and knowing exactly where the leftover files live is what separates a partial uninstall from a clean one.

Force Closing Riot Client App Locks

When trying to delete the folders or trigger the uninstall, a Riot Client is running block frequently halts the wizard. To bypass this process block, open the Riot Client, click the profile icon in the top-right corner, and open Settings. Under the Startup Behavior menu, uncheck Open Riot Client on startup and select Exit application under the close window preferences.

This allows a clean termination of the software. Alternatively, close the background tasks through Task Manager using the Ctrl + Shift + Esc shortcut and end any remaining processes like RiotClientServices.exe or vgtray.exe, which is the same method used to force the Valorant client to close and restart when it hangs.

Uninstalling Vanguard and Valorant via Command Prompt

When the default Settings application fails or Vanguard becomes stuck in an active driver loop, the manual service de-registration command bypasses the block.

1. Open the Start menu, type CMD, right-click Command Prompt, and select Run as administrator.
2. Type the command sc delete vgc and press Enter.
3. Type the command sc delete vgk and press Enter.
4. Restart the PC immediately to disable the active boot driver.
5. Navigate to File Explorer, access C:\Program Files, right-click the Riot Vanguard folder, and select Delete.

Uninstalling Valorant on Console Platforms

If playing on console hardware, the software is deleted directly through the native operating system dashboard without running anti-cheat driver sequences.

For Xbox Series X|S Users

1. Press the Xbox guide button on the controller and select My games & apps.
2. Highlight the Valorant icon and press the Menu button.
3. Select Manage Game and Add-ons, then click Uninstall All.

For PlayStation 5 Users

1. Navigate to the Game Library from the home screen.
2. Highlight the Valorant tile and press the Options button.
3. Select Delete and press OK to confirm.