New seasons await players of Rogue Company, Smite, and Paladins — and Hi-Rez Studios unveiled all the epic details at our annual keynote last week.
Want to learn more about the new rogue Kestrel, a new Babylonian Conquest map and gods, or the world-devouring worm champion Yagorath? Read on for all the details.
Next month, Rogue Company kicks off the first season of the Year One Pass with Kestrel, our newest rogue. Kestrel splits her time between running a multinational business empire and saving the world from imminent destruction with Rogue Company. Equipped for any situation with her advanced assault rifle, SMG, and a set of Halo Drones she can deploy to rain hellfire, Kestrel has a reputation for winning any battle she engages in, whether it’s in the boardroom or on the battlefield!
Kestrel will be followed by seven additional rogues throughout 2021, offering a diverse lineup that will cover a range of roles and playstyles. Don’t want to miss a single rogue? The Year One Pass is coming to Rogue Company, granting immediate access to each rogue as they’re released – plus bonus content like weapon wraps and an exclusive outfit.
Year One will also introduce seasonal Rogue Company Battle Pass events, giving our players a new way to earn amazing new content – including new weapon wraps, emotes, and outfits. Our first Battle Pass includes new outfits for Fixer, Dallas, and Trench, and features our first ever Legendary Scorch outfit – as a chrome-plated cyber-demon who is programmed to incinerate anyone who stands in her way!
This year will also see the Rogue Company tackling missions across the globe as we introduce new maps and new modes during each season. Season One starts with the introduction of The Hollows, a secret base built by the devious organization Jackal for the purpose of launching a rocket into space. Our next update will also see the introduction of the new Wingman mode, a fast-paced 2v2 game type which will allow players to face off in intense battles on all new skirmish maps.
Smite Season 8: Dawn of Babylon brings a new map for the core Conquest mode and an all-new pantheon of gods.
When the season premieres on January 26, the Conquest map will get an overhauled look inspired by Baylonian myth. The goddess TIamat has banished Cthulhu, and cleansed the battlegrounds of his dark influence. But in doing so, she’s remade the world in her own image — resplendent in gold and Babylonian architecture. The new Conquest map is also larger than the old map and features new Jungle challenges, offering additional opportunities for strategic gameplay.
Even better: This isn’t the only time Smite’s Conquest map will update in Season 8. This year’s Conquest map is a living map, evolving with quarterly updates that will feature new visuals and gameplay changes. There’s always something new to look forward to on the battleground of the gods in Season 8.
The monster queen Tiamat hasn’t just reshaped the world. She’s also Smite’s next playable god, introducing the Babylonian Pantheon to Smite’s roster of gods. Following soon thereafter, the much-requested epic hero Gilgamesh will arrive to challenge Tiamat. Both gods are slated to join the Smite roster in early 2021 with Tiamat arriving in February.
These two Babylonian gods are only the beginning of an incredible Season 8 line-up. Four more gods will follow throughout 2021, and eagle-eyed fans can check out our Season 8 god teaser trailer to start cooking up their best theories on who will join the battleground of the gods.
Other announcements in the Smite presentation included the Most Wanted Battle Pass, a Janus rework, item updates, balance changes, and more for the first update of the year. As a special bonus, players on Xbox One can get exclusive access to our console playtest server, allowing you to check out the new Season 8 content before it officially launches!
Smite’s new season announcement comes in the middle of the Smite World Championship – a $600,000 tournament to crown the best team across all platforms and inputs. All weekend long, you’ll be able to watch competitive Smite on twitch.tv/smitegame and can earn drops every day including a free skin, exclusive to this weekend’s event: SWC Champion Chang’e. Be sure to tune into the finals on Sunday, January 10 at 3:00 pm EST to see which team will be crowned as the World Champion!
Paladins will launch Season 4: Calamity on February 3 alongside the all-devouring worm Yagorath. A champion who can only be described as the ultimate cosmic horror, Yagorath enters the realm after being teased for years. Beginning with the shattering of the moon and the creation of Io, and culminating with her release by the vindictive former Seal Guardian, Vora, Yagorath threatens the world of Paladins like nothing before.
As a front line, Yagorath leads her team to victory by spewing acid, firing deadly spikes, and devouring any champions caught in her path. That’s right – Yagorath’s ultimate ability literally lets you chow down on an enemy champion.
In order to combat Yagorath and repel the darkness not only will the Resistance and Magistrate need to unite, but new champions will rise to defend the realm. Don’t miss a single champion from this incredible season with the new Season Pass, which gets you each champion on release day, an exclusive skin for each, and more bonuses.
But we aren’t just kicking this year off with one of the most unique champions ever – we’re also announcing a major overhaul to our Battle Pass system. Starting in Season 4, these revamped Event Passes will launch with each patch update, allowing players to earn new content more frequently – like exclusive skins and emotes – throughout the year. To top it all off, a slew of other updates are coming throughout 2021, such as map updates, custom game mode options, and the much-awaited return of limited time modes.
2021 is going to be an amazing year for all Hi-Rez titles, and we can’t wait to share everything that is on the horizon with you. Thank you to all our players that support our titles – if it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t be able to make these games we all hold so dear. Whether you are a fan of the tactical shootouts in Rogue Company, the epic skirmishes of Smite, or the fast-paced action of Paladins, we will see you all in-game during our incredible new seasons!