For an Overwatch competitor, the lights are slowly going out. There are no more updates – but you can still play for a while.
When Overwatch was released, Blizzard revolutionized the market for hero shooters. It won numerous awards, and Overwatch is generally considered one of the best games of its time. Others wanted a piece of the pie as well, and one of the first developers to jump in was Hi-Rez with “Paladins”.
Now, Paladins is facing its final days, as no further patches will be coming, and developers are being laid off.
What was happening with Paladins? Paladins was a free-to-play alternative to Overwatch that essentially showcased a very similar gameplay style. Some characters played very similarly, and the game modes were heavily inspired by Overwatch. Unlike the full-price title, Paladins was free and managed to build a relatively large community at the beginning.
What is happening with Paladins now? Paladins is being discontinued. There will be no further development. This was somewhat to be expected, as there hasn’t been much new content released in recent years anyhow. The last new hero was released in 2023.
It is said that the “active development of Paladins is being stopped” and that no new updates should be expected (via pcgamer.com).
However, the servers are expected to remain active for the foreseeable future, both for Paladins and for SMITE 1, which is also slowly coming to an end.
Hi-Rez itself is currently in the process of “right-sizing” and is currently funneling all resources into SMITE 2, which is currently in open beta testing. We have also taken a look at the beta – and some demons have been immersed in it for hours again.
