Smite aims for an early 2015 closed beta on the Xbox One

During a recent recap of PAX Australia’s second day, developer Hi-Rez Studios has revealed it aims to bring a closed beta of its third-person multiplayer online battle arena Smite to Xbox One players sometime in early 2015. “We’re working really hard on a console version of Smite,” Hi-Rez Co-Founder and COO Todd Harris says, “and in the beginning of the year, we’re going to start closed beta for the Xbox One version. We hope to release that in the first half of next year.”

As mentioned above, Smite is a third person MOBA title developed and published by Hi-Rez Studios for the PC, and soon for the Xbox One. In Smite, players take on the visage of a mythological god and take part in arena combat, using powers and team-tactics against other player-controlled gods and non-player controlled minions.Players are formed into two teams, with three to five players to each team. All players begin at opposite sides of a map at their team’s ‘fountain’. Before the players enter the map, they are granted an amount of gold (usually 1,500) to buy starting items. These items grant special bonuses or abilities that enhance the player’s god.

There are one to three continuous ‘lanes’ running from one side of the map to the other. Each lane is defended by a ‘Phoenix’ which is accompanied by a pair of extra defensive towers. Phoenixes and towers deal a large amount of damage to any enemies that come too close. The goal of each game is to destroy the opposing team’s Phoenixes and the Titan, a giant warrior who must be defeated to win the game. The players are accompanied by ‘minions’, small soldiers with a weak attack; these minions spawn at the Phoenixes every thirty seconds and run along their lane until they meet opposition and attack immediately.

Smite received generally favorable reviews from critics. The game currently holds a score of 84 out of 100 on Metacritic and 87.62% on GameRankings, based on a dozen reviews by all major video game critics.