SMITE developer Hi-Rez Studios has announced Paladins, a free-to-play team-based shooter with character classes and a card collection element.
It’s hard to look at the initial images that have been released and not immediately think of Blizzard’s upcoming shooter Overwatch, which is probably not what Hi-Rez would want, but Paladins does bring a few unique ideas to the table.
“Paladins combines a rich fantasy setting with the fast action of a team-based first person shooter,” the developer explains. “In addition to the core shooter experience, Paladins also offers deep strategy and in-match character progression through decks of collectible cards, which amplify and augment a character’s core set of abilities.”
Players in Paladins enter battle with a primary weapon, their MOBA-style action and movement abilities, and even a personal mount. As you level up in-game you can add or switch out different cards from your custom deck, focusing on strength, defense or utility.
Paladins is coming to PC and current generation consoles in 2016. You can sign up for the game’s Beta on the official website.
