There is a MOBA that MeinMMO demon Cortyn played for many years. Now it is desperately trying to stay alive.
When thinking of the major MOBAs of the last decade, most probably have League of Legends or DOTA 2 in mind. Some might still think of the “half-dead” Heroes of the Storm, which hasn’t been developed for years but at least still occasionally receives small balance patches.
But there was another MOBA that was quite large and popular at times: SMITE.
SMITE was quite unique because it did not have an isometric view; instead, you felt closer to the action as you controlled your character in a third-person perspective. This made the combat feel more dynamic.
SMITE 2 – One step into the future, two steps back in microtransactions
Some time ago, the developers came up with the idea to cease development of SMITE and develop SMITE 2 instead. After all, several new versions of the Unreal Engine had been released, so a core renovation made a lot of sense. This also allowed them to finally streamline the overloaded menus and make the entire game more attractive and accessible. I initially praised this step as well.
In theory, it was a good plan. But one that failed. Because where SMITE 1 in January 2024 could still boast up to 24,000 simultaneous players, SMITE 2 simply hasn’t succeeded. Sure, SMITE 2 is still in Early Access, but it hasn’t surpassed 6,400 concurrent players.
During this time, the player base of SMITE 1 shrank to a maximum of 2,000 players. This means that the transition from SMITE 1 to SMITE 2 cost nearly 70% of the players.
A change that the developers probably did not plan for, leading to questionable decisions in SMITE 2:
Almost every new patch in SMITE 2 introduced new mechanics and content that provided opportunities to spend real money on microtransactions. While microtransactions
is the wrong term here because after a purchase, the remaining money for my monthly planning is the only “micro” left.
Initially, the menus were clean and organized, but now there are more and more elements in the interface that point to one of many shopping options.
The prices are also beyond reason. The “Sagas”, which are the most premium skins with various color variants, cost around €30 when purchased at release. If you want them a few weeks later, you’ll have to pay almost €50.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Everything that can be imagined comes with a price tag.
- You want more than one emote to choose from in the game at the same time? Sure, but please pay €20 – per emote slot.
- You want your account name to be displayed on the loading screen with a flaming fire animation? No problem, just pay €50.
Then there are also fun things like “events” where you can earn minimal rewards or so little event currency through gameplay that you cannot progress without spending real money.
Free2Play does not justify everything
And yes, I know: SMITE 2 is Free2Play. But Free2Play cannot justify everything. It is evident from the player numbers that the plan is clearly not working.
When SMITE 2 launched, they wanted to lure players from SMITE 1. They introduced “Legacy Gems”. Anyone who had purchased real money currency in SMITE 1 would receive double the amount of these gems in SMITE 2. You could then use them to buy new content at a 50% reduced price.
However, just a few weeks later, they retracted this promise. What you could buy with the Legacy Gems was continuously cut back, and now we have ended up with such glorious items like “icons”, “background music”, and “announcers”. Occasionally, you can still buy a classic skin with them. However, the promised cost reduction for new content has almost completely been revoked.
I fondly remember SMITE and still have fun with SMITE 2. The gameplay is still good, and the “ARAM” mode (that is, “assault”) remains a nice pastime that is fun, especially with friends.
However, seeing how desperately the developers try to squeeze money out of the game while player numbers stagger at a low level makes me increasingly doubt whether SMITE 2 was really a good idea. I don’t believe that SMITE 2 can free itself from this hole. Anyone starting the game for the first time must be careful where they click to avoid inadvertently hitting some shop or purchase offer.
Even though this is a little bit of negative crystal ball reading, I believe that SMITE 2 will not survive the coming year. The idea of “we demand more money from fewer and fewer players” is simply doomed to fail. It hurts to see how a once quite successful game completely fails at its own renewal and clogs itself with so many shop options that newcomers would directly think: No, thank you. That’s enough.
I would almost prefer a subscription system and tip my hat to games like RuneScape that simply ask their community how real money transactions should look.
