Recently, MOBA fans around the world rejoiced as SMITE 2 was announced, some ten years after the release of the first game. Penned as an entirely standalone product that won’t replace SMITE, SMITE 2 has been painstakingly constructed in full in Unreal Engine 5. It’s being marketed as a ‘true sequel’ to SMITE, which was released back in 2014 and has enjoyed a consistently well-populated community since then.
Titan Forge Games revealed SMITE 2 ahead of the Smite World Championship tournament – the tenth anniversary of the competition. That has been playing out this weekend, but as the action has unravelled, more information has been revealed about SMITE 2, including how the game’s esports ecosystem will work.
SMITE 2 Esports Are Coming
There’s a closed alpha that’s shaping up to be rolled out to fans around the world, and pre-alpha footage is already looking impressive. It’ll be a huge ask for SMITE 2 to contend with the leaders of the MOBA niche, such as League of Legends or Dota 2, but what’s coming already looks great. In a line, Titan Forge promised that SMITE 2 would have ‘more godlike impact, strategy, and creativity than ever before,’ marking high expectations for the project.
It was since revealed that SMITE 2 will boast Major tournaments that are ‘held in front of a live audience around the world.’ When SMITE 2 is released, it’ll kickstart an esports ecosystem that’ll see at least one major event being played in the United States and one taking place in Europe or the United Kingdom.
That itself is a huge win, as while esports events in the United Kingdom are on the rise, they’re still yet to reach lofty heights. In 2024, the BLAST Premier Spring Final and the League of Legends World Championship will be making their way to London – but many esports games are yet to set foot on British soil.
There are high hopes that SMITE 2 will give MOBA fans something else to focus on away from the powerhouse titles that are League of Legends and Dota 2. That could be the case, as SMITE doesn’t conform to the traditional standards of a MOBA in terms of how it’s played. At the end of the day, innovation is never a bad thing.
There’s no release date for SMITE 2 at present but we know it’s going to be released on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5, with the multi-platform approach adding another unique arrow to SMITE 2’s quiver.
