Smite is turning into a franchise.
Developer Hi-Rez Studio announced today during its Hi-Rez Expo in Atlanta that Smite Tactics has entered its closed beta. You can sign up for it here. Smite Tactics is a spin-off of Hi-Rez’s multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA). While the MOBA focuses on teamwork, the new title is a tactical game that involves cards.
The closed beta is for PC, although Hi-Rez notes that it hopes to add a console closed beta in the coming months.
Hi-Rez doesn’t release player numbers for Smite. League of Legends and Dota 2 are the MOBA kings, although Paragon stand out since it’s on a console and has a third-person camera. Hi-Rez also developed the team-based shooter Paladins.
“Smite Tactics is a turn-based, one-vs-one strategy game set in the same mythological universe as the hit multiplayer online battleground arena (MOBA), Smite,” Hi-Rez detailed in a press release sent to GamesBeat. “Players build decks of cards that spawn units onto a fully rendered 3D battlefield. Every unit has unique abilities and can be moved tactically across the battleground. Card decks are themed from each of Smite’s mythological pantheons and led by a god from that respective pantheon. The goal of the game is simple: Defeat the opponent’s leader.”
Hi-Rez is busy trying to expand Smite beyond the MOBA space. Along with Smite Tactics, the studio also announced another, more traditional digital card game, Smite Rivals, during the Hi-Rez Expo.