Hi-Rez Studios has announced that it is bringing Smite to the XBOX One. Smite is a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game where gods from various mythos battle it out in third person. They will be using Microsoft’s self publishing program to release the console version sometime in 2015. You can see their announcement video HERE.
Players are already playing this game on the PC with an XBOX controller, so transitioning to a console should not be as difficult to convert the action as some other titles. Of those already using a controller, the primary complaints are a lack of responsiveness and enough buttons at higher levels. No specifics have been announced, such as features and if the console version will be the same free to play platform as the PC version.
The current modes in the game consist of Practice, Arena, Assault, Conquest, Joust, and Siege. These are mostly various versions of PVP and Base capturing with team or 1v1 options. Battles aren’t just players battling it out there are AI controlled opponents as well. While there isn’t a lot of variation at this point the ones that are there have solid game play. Frequent updates in the future may also provide additional game play types.
To battle it out, you choose which god that you want to fight with. At this point there are 57 gods to choose from. Some are more commonly known like Thor, Ra, and Zeus. Others are less well known, such as He Bo, the Chinese God of the Yellow River, and Cabraken, the Mayan Destroyer of Mountains. Each god is built with a primary play style such as ranged, magic, or warrior types. Hi-Res goes to great lengths to make sure that each of the god’s power and abilities are balanced as possible.
As you play with a particular warrior you will level them up. As you level up they learn different abilities for each allowing you to customize your play style and take on tougher opponents. There are also different skins that can be applied to your selected deity to give them the look that you like best. Some skins are drastically different from the original concept which helps cut down on seeing the same character models as you play.
Smite will be Hi-Res Studios first console release. Little is yet known about what the XBOX One version will look like in the end. The number of games they have released since they started in 2005 can be counted on one hand. The ones that they have released however have had an overall positive response from players. This is rare especially in a world of so many companies trying to suck in as much money as they can even at the cost of quality. It will be interesting to see how they do.