SMITE

If you thought that Smite needed some more capes and somoe more of a grind, the RuneScape and Smite collaboration has gone live.

Hi-Rez's SMITE was slated to take the stage this weekend in its esports competitions, however the studio announced today that the broadcasts would be "postponed," without expressly stating why.

In a Hi-Rez showcase of sorts, Smite, Rogue Company, and Paladins have announced a bunch of updates.

SMITE will be teaming up with Nickelodeon for their next Battle Pass and will feature characters from both Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra.

Smite developers, Hi-Rez Studios, have outlined the State of Conquest along with moving forward into 2020 in their latest community post.

In a rather short but cryptic post, it looks like the SMITE team are teasing the "Butcher".

SMITE has been updated with the Darkness Falls patch that is anchored by a new Assault Map. "Ragnarok has come and gone, transforming Asgard in the process", the patch notes read. The map has new art assets to give it a darker, more foreboding feel, but also comes along with new gameplay mechanics "to encourage more fighting".

The SMITE site has been updated with a brief post inviting artsy types to create this year's Community Skin. Submissions are being accepted through March 26th after which the Hi-Rez team will "narrow down all the submissions to a final short list". Once done, the community will be presented with the list so they can "vote on their favorite concept and we'll make it happen".

SMITE has been updated to v6.1 that brings Merlin into the game as well as the highly-anticipated crossplay feature that allows players to seamlessly play their account on XBox One, Switch or PC. Players simply link accounts from each platform and progression from each will be merged into a single account. Switch players have had issues logging in after linking accounts, but the team is working on a solution.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation has announced that 21 men have been arrested after a three week long investigation called Operation Interception. Included in the number arrested is SMITE community specialist Thomas Cheung, also known as Elvine in the WoW community. Allegedly the men were attempting to arrange to have sex with a child and were caught up in the operation to "arrest persons who communicate with children online, have sexually explicit conversations & then travel to meet them".

The SMITE site has a forward look at the 6.1 update that is bringing some big, big changes to the game. Most notably, players on XBox One, Switch and PC can enjoy cross platform gaming. In addition, players will enjoy a single SMITE account that is accessible regardless of what platform they are playing on. The good news is that currency, unlocked gods and skins will also be merged.

On Tuesday, January 8th, SMITE players on PC will be able to check out the game's latest hero, none other than the Wielder of Excalibur, King Arthur himself. To showcase what Arthur brings to the game, Titan Forge Games / Hi Rez Studios has released a gameplay trailer. The patch notes for tomorrow's update are also available on the SMITE site.

Hi-Rez Studios has announced that SMITE is coming to Nintendo Switch in January 2019. The game will feature 60 FPS gameplay and full cross-play between Switch, XBox One, PC, Mac and the Steam version. It remains unknown whether or not there will be PS4 cross-play. Players will also have access to their account across all platforms to keep progression unified.

A new goddess is heading to SMITE, no less than the Greek Queen of the Gods, Hera. Hi-Rez Studios has sent out its signature reveal video to not only provide a peek at her abilities, but also some background from mythology of old.

SMITE 5.14 has been deployed along with a brand new goddess joining the pantheon: Pele, Goddess of Volcanoes. The Polynesian Pantheon begins with Pele who, as expected, brings a fiery form of combat with abilities such as Everlasting Flame, Pyroclast and Eruption. The video also provides her origin story and a look at her in combat.