Smite 2 Announced, Alpha Playtest Coming Spring 2024

Smite 2, the newly announced sequel to the third-person multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game Smite, was unveiled at the 2024 Smite World Championship. The game is set to retain the familiar core gameplay while undergoing a complete rebuild for the next generation. For those unfamiliar with Smite, it shares the MOBA genre with titles like League of Legends and Dota 2, involving two teams of five players battling for control over a three-lane map.

Unlike traditional MOBAs, Smite provides a unique third-person perspective, immersing players in the heat of battle as they control powerful gods. Originally released in 2014 and running on Unreal Engine 3, Smite 2 signifies a significant technological leap, utilizing Unreal Engine 5 for enhanced visuals, new animations, and effects for its pantheon of playable gods.

Travis Brown, General Manager at Titan Forge Games, described Smite 2 as an opportunity to leverage a decade of experience in making Smite one of the most successful multiplayer games. The game promises improvements such as new abilities for certain characters, a revamped backend and matchmaking system, new map features, and a fresh UI.

The sequel also introduces five new gods, starting with Hecate, the Greek goddess of sorcery, available in the alpha playtest scheduled for Spring 2024. Smite 2’s development team is taking advantage of the rebuild to make fundamental adjustments, aiming to introduce more strategic depth to the game.

Smite 2 removes restrictions on item usage based on power type, allowing all gods to build all items. Individual abilities will now scale based on new Strength and Intelligence stats. The relic system is entirely removed, and the item store is restructured for easier dynamic adaptation of builds during matches.

Considering the enormity of creating a new version of a game after a decade of continual updates, the developers plan to bring over every god from Smite 1 to Smite 2 eventually. However, not all content from Smite 1 will transition, with in-game skins released before Year 11 excluded due to feasibility concerns. A Legacy system is in the works to acknowledge the investments of veteran Smite players.

Importantly, Smite 2 will coexist with Smite 1, which will continue as a standalone game with regular updates. The sequel will be available on PC, Steam Deck, Xbox Series X and S, and PlayStation 5, featuring full crossplay. Interested players can sign up for the alpha playtest.