Hi-Rez Plans Smite Xbox One Closed Beta For Early 2015, Release By Mid-Year

Speaking at PAX Australia, Hi-Rez Studios chief operating officer Todd Harris shared some new information for its MOBA, Smite. The title was announced for Xbox One at Gamescom this year, and the wait won’t be too much longer for some players.

Harris says the game currently has a registered user count of over 5 million, and that should grow as the Xbox One version enters closed beta in early 2015. The studio, which also recently opened Australian servers, hopes to release the game on console in the first half of the year.

For more on Smite, check out our review of the PC version. You can also read up on why we think this is a big get for Microsoft on the Xbox One.

[Source: Hi-Rez Studios via Polygon]

Our Take
MOBAs aren’t terribly well represented on console yet. There’s Awesomenauts, which is extremely approachable, and Guardians of Middle-earth, which hasn’t seen too much post-launch support. League of Legends, Dota 2, Heroes of the Storm, Infinite Crisis, Dawngate and others haven’t broached the space yet.

Hi-Rez could stand to win big by being the first more traditional MOBA on a new-gen console. Whether the audience is ready and willing for it remains to be seen, though.