Now you can check out that whole multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) craze from the convenience of your couch.
Smite has begun its open beta on Xbox One, meaning anyone can download it from the Xbox One store and play it. Smite is a free-to-play MOBA (a kind of game where two teams of player-controlled heroes try to destroy the other’s base), similar to massive hits League of Legends and Dota 2. However, while those games have top-down views, Smite has a third-person camera. This has helped it transition well to a console control scheme, while League of Legends and Dota 2 are only available on PC.
You can link your PC account of Smite with the Xbox One version. The PC version came out on March 25, 2014. Developer Hi-Rez Studios says that Smite already has 8 million players. That’s not bad, but the MOBA king, League of Legends, has about 67 million monthly active players.
The MOBA field is becoming crowded. Blizzard’s Heroes of the Storm officially released last month. We’ve also seen some hopefuls close down, including the DC Comics-themed Infinite Crisis. Still, Smite seems to be creating a place for itself in the crowded field thanks to its unique camera, and the rare inclusion of a console version will likely help.