How To Completely Uninstall Valorant And Riot Vanguard (2026 Guide)
Uninstalling Valorant is not as simple as removing most Windows programs because Riot Vanguard — the game’s kernel-level anti-cheat driver — runs at boot and embeds itself deep in your system. You need to remove both Valorant and Vanguard separately, and in the right order, or you will end up with leftover services, phantom drivers, and wasted disk space. This guide covers every method that works as of 2026, including what to do when the standard uninstall fails.
Valorant currently occupies roughly 26–46 GB on a PC depending on your patch version (the Riot Client recommends 40 GB of free space for installation). On PlayStation 5 it takes about 26.5 GB and on Xbox around 28 GB. Your account progress, rank, and cosmetics are all stored server-side on your Riot account, so nothing is lost when you uninstall.
Step 1: Exit Riot Vanguard Before Doing Anything Else
You must shut down Vanguard before attempting to uninstall either Valorant or Vanguard itself. If you skip this step, the uninstaller may fail or leave behind locked files.
- Look in the system tray (bottom-right corner of your taskbar, near the clock). You may need to click the small up arrow to expand hidden icons.
- Find the Riot Vanguard shield icon, right-click it, and select Exit Vanguard.
- Click Yes to confirm.
If you do not see the Vanguard icon in the system tray, open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc), go to the Details tab, and check whether vgtray.exe or vgc.exe is running. If so, right-click each and select End task.
Step 2: Uninstall Riot Vanguard First
This is the correct order — remove Vanguard before removing Valorant. If you uninstall Valorant first, Vanguard can get orphaned on your system and become harder to remove.
Method A: Windows Settings (Windows 10/11)
- Press Windows + I to open Settings.
- Go to Apps → Installed Apps (Windows 11) or Apps → Apps & Features (Windows 10).
- Search for Riot Vanguard in the list.
- Click the three-dot menu (Windows 11) or click the entry (Windows 10) and select Uninstall.
- Follow the prompts and confirm removal.
Method B: Control Panel
- Press Windows key, type
control panel, and open it. - Set View by to Small Icons in the upper-right corner.
- Click Programs and Features.
- Find Riot Vanguard, right-click it, and select Uninstall.
Step 3: Uninstall Valorant
With Vanguard removed, now uninstall the game itself using any of these methods.
Method A: Windows Settings
- Press Windows + I → Apps → Installed Apps.
- Find VALORANT in the list.
- Click Uninstall and confirm.
Method B: Control Panel
- Open Control Panel → Programs and Features.
- Find VALORANT, right-click, and select Uninstall.
Method C: Start Menu
- Press the Windows key or click the Start button.
- Find the VALORANT icon (or type “Valorant” in the search bar).
- Right-click and select Uninstall.
Note about the Riot Client: A common misconception is that you can uninstall Valorant from inside the Riot Client. The Riot Client is a launcher, not an uninstaller — use Windows Settings or Control Panel for a reliable removal.
Uninstalling on Console (PS5 / Xbox)
PlayStation 5: Go to your game library, highlight Valorant, press the Options button on your controller, and select Delete.
Xbox: Press the Xbox button, go to My Games & Apps → See All → Games, highlight Valorant, press the Menu button, and select Uninstall.
Step 4: Remove the Riot Client (Optional)
If you do not play any other Riot games (League of Legends, Teamfight Tactics, Legends of Runeterra), you can also remove the Riot Client:
- Open Settings → Apps → Installed Apps.
- Find Riot Client and select Uninstall.
If you still play other Riot titles, leave the Riot Client installed — removing it will break access to those games.
Step 5: Clean Up Leftover Files
The standard uninstaller does not always remove everything. These leftover folders can waste gigabytes of disk space.
| Location | What to Delete |
|---|---|
C:\Riot Games\VALORANT\ | Entire VALORANT folder |
C:\Riot Games\Riot Client\ | Entire Riot Client folder (only if you uninstalled it in Step 4) |
C:\Program Files\Riot Vanguard\ | Entire Riot Vanguard folder |
%AppData%\Riot Games\ | Riot Games settings folder (press Win + R, type %appdata%) |
%LocalAppData%\Riot Games\ | Local cache files (press Win + R, type %localappdata%) |
%LocalAppData%\VALORANT\ | Game-specific local data |
%ProgramData%\Riot Games\ | Shared program data (press Win + R, type %programdata%) |
Tip: If any files refuse to delete because they are “in use,” restart your PC first and then try again. Vanguard locks certain files at the kernel level, and those locks only release after a reboot.
What To Do If the Standard Uninstall Fails
Some users report that Vanguard does not fully uninstall through normal methods. The most common symptom is the vgk.sys driver file remaining locked in C:\Program Files\Riot Vanguard\. This happens because Vanguard runs at the kernel level and can survive a standard Windows uninstall process.
Fix 1: Remove Vanguard Services via Command Prompt
- Press the Windows key, type
cmd. - Right-click Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator.
- Type the following commands, pressing Enter after each:
sc delete vgc
sc delete vgk- Restart your PC — this is mandatory.
- After the reboot, navigate to
C:\Program Files\Riot Vanguard\and delete the entire folder.
The sc delete vgc command removes the Vanguard anti-cheat service, and sc delete vgk removes the kernel-level driver service. Both must be deleted for a clean removal.
Fix 2: Delete vgk.sys in Safe Mode
If the vgk.sys file still will not delete after running the commands above:
- Press Windows + I → System → Recovery.
- Under Advanced startup, click Restart now.
- On the blue screen, go to Troubleshoot → Advanced Options → Startup Settings → Restart.
- After the second restart, press 4 or F4 to boot into Safe Mode.
- Open File Explorer, navigate to
C:\Program Files\Riot Vanguard\, and delete thevgk.sysfile (and the entire folder if possible). - Restart normally.
Fix 3: Rename vgk.sys to Break the Driver Load
If you cannot delete the file even in Safe Mode, try renaming it:
- Navigate to
C:\Program Files\Riot Vanguard\. - Right-click
vgk.sysand rename it to something likevgk.sys.old. - Restart your PC. The system will fail to load the renamed driver, and the file will no longer be locked.
- After reboot, delete the renamed file and the entire Riot Vanguard folder.
Fix 4: Registry Cleanup (Advanced)
If Vanguard still appears in your installed programs list after removal, clean up leftover registry entries:
- Press Win + R, type
regedit, and press Enter. - Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE → SOFTWARE → Riot Games and delete the Riot Games key.
- Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER → SOFTWARE → Riot Games and delete it.
- Also check HKEY_CURRENT_USER → Software → Microsoft → Windows → CurrentVersion → Uninstall for any Valorant-related entries and delete them.
Warning: Editing the Windows Registry can cause system problems if you delete the wrong entries. Only delete keys specifically related to Riot Games and Valorant. Consider creating a registry backup (File → Export) before making changes.
The vgk.sys Blue Screen Problem
Some users encounter a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) caused by vgk.sys — this is separate from uninstall issues but often motivates the decision to remove Vanguard entirely.
| Common Cause | Fix |
|---|---|
| Corrupted Vanguard files after a Windows or game update | Uninstall Vanguard completely (use the command-line method above) and reinstall Valorant from scratch |
| Driver conflict with antivirus software (Avast, Norton, Kaspersky) | Add Vanguard exclusions to your antivirus, or uninstall the conflicting antivirus |
| Intel 13th/14th Gen CPU voltage instability | Update your motherboard BIOS to apply Intel Baseline power limits — this is a known hardware issue, not a Vanguard bug |
| Windows Fast Startup preventing proper driver load | Disable Fast Startup: Control Panel → Power Options → Choose what the power buttons do → Change settings that are currently unavailable → Uncheck “Turn on fast startup” |
| Outdated GPU drivers | Update GPU drivers through NVIDIA GeForce Experience, AMD Adrenalin, or Intel Arc Control |
If you continue experiencing BSODs after removing Vanguard, check Windows Event Viewer (Win + X → Event Viewer → Windows Logs → System) for the exact crash cause. Look for entries timestamped around the crash time — the “Bug Check” code will tell you whether the crash is actually Vanguard-related or a separate hardware or driver issue.
Should You Disable Vanguard Instead of Uninstalling?
If you plan to play Valorant again in the future, disabling Vanguard is simpler than a full uninstall-reinstall cycle:
- Right-click the Vanguard icon in the system tray.
- Select Exit Vanguard and confirm.
This stops Vanguard until you restart your PC. Valorant will not launch without Vanguard running, so you will need to reboot before playing again. This is also useful when Vanguard conflicts with other software you need to run temporarily (certain anti-virus tools, hardware monitoring apps, or older drivers).
Note that as of 2025, Riot expanded Vanguard to also protect League of Legends and other Riot titles. If you play any Riot game, Vanguard will reinstall itself when you next update or launch one of those games.
What Vanguard Actually Does (And Why People Want It Gone)
Riot Vanguard is a kernel-mode anti-cheat that starts the moment your PC boots — not just when you launch Valorant. It runs with the same privileges as your hardware drivers, which means it has deep access to your system. Riot says this is necessary because cheat software also operates at the kernel level, and a user-mode anti-cheat cannot detect kernel-mode cheats.
The privacy concern is legitimate: a kernel-level process can theoretically monitor any activity on your system. While Riot Games has published transparency reports and states that Vanguard only collects cheat-related data, it is a valid reason for removal if you have stopped playing Valorant. Since Vanguard’s deployment across Riot’s game portfolio in 2024, it has banned over 175,000 accounts and reduced scripting in ranked games to below 1% — the lowest in four years.
The bottom line: if you are done with all Riot games, follow the full uninstall process above. If you are just taking a break, disable Vanguard via the system tray and re-enable it by restarting when you want to play again.