VALORANT New Bundle Ayakashi: A Japanese Folklore Tribute

7 Jan

Andre Guaraldo

Riot Games brings in 2026 with the new skin bundle Ayakashi, a premium cosmetic collection inspired by Japanese mythology that proves they continue to not mess around when it comes to weapon cosmetic innovations.

What The Ayakashi Skin Bundle Contains

The bundle costs 7,160 Valorant Points and arrives with a solid lineup: the Phantom and Ghost skins (those reliable guns you already can't aim with) plus the Kogitsune dual-blade melee, VALORANT's first-ever dual short katana design. Think of it as finally getting the sword your ninja cosplay deserved, except it's purely cosmetic and is unlikely to actually help you win rounds (but it'll look cool while you lose).

Included alongside these weapons are thematic cosmetics that tie the whole package together: a gun buddy, player card, and spray.

The Details That Make It Premium

Every weapon comes with four color variants (default, red, pink, and blue) plus custom musical animations that genuinely set this apart. When you fire the Phantom or Ghost, each bullet triggers different musical notes, essentially turning your spray into a Japanese-influenced trap beat symphony. The Kogitsune melee features completely custom animations for equip, attacks, idle, running, and inspect... no copy-pasting from last year's skins here.

The reload animation? The guns literally dissolve into smoke and rematerialize. It's the kind of over-the-top cosmetic detail that makes you wonder how Riot's designers have so much creativity and storage space for all these ideas.

The Mythology Angle

Ayakashi refers to supernatural entities from Japanese folklore (mysterious, powerful, and typically the type of creatures you'd cross the street to avoid). The skins lean hard into this aesthetic with flowing dark energy, glowing kitsune mask accents, and reactive visual effects that shift based on player movement. Even the finisher animation gets the treatment, depicting a clash between worlds centered on a kitsune mask with flowing tails against a luminous moon.

When is Ayakashi Coming and is it Worth the Cost?

The bundle officially released on January 7, 2026, alongside the new 2026 Season Act I. It's available through the in-game featured store rotation, meaning you can grab it whenever it cycles back (or immediately, depending on your FOMO levels).

If you main Phantom or Ghost and appreciate melee cosmetics, Ayakashi delivers premium quality with meaningful customization. The price tag reflects Riot's confidence in the animation and audio design... no lazy cash grab here, just a well-crafted collection for players willing to invest in feeling good while getting outplayed.

Consider it the 2026 season's opening statement: Riot's stepping up the detail game, and they're not leaving your wallet alone in the process.

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Feature image credits: Riot Games