Fans of the popular MOBA game Smite will be disappointed to learn that all of their favorite skins will not be making the jump to the upcoming sequel, Smite 2.
The developers at Hi-Rez Studios have announced that porting all 1,600 skins from the original game to the new engine would be a massive undertaking, requiring 246 person-years of work.
“Currently, because we want to make sure all the content that goes into Smite 2 is strictly better, it takes about two months of work to get one skin from Smite to Smite 2,” art director Ben Knapp said. “And that’s if we just port it with effects without making other meaningful improvements.”
Hi-Rez acknowledged that this was a “hard call” was made early in development. The studio ultimately decided porting the content just wasn’t feasible, and was hopeful players would understand. “We believed that our players wanted a better version of Smite more than anything else.”
Instead of bringing back all of the old skins, Hi-Rez is offering a “Legacy Gems” system. Under this system, Smite 2 players will be rewarded with virtual currency that they can spend on Smite 2 content, with the amount dependent on how much they’ve spent on cosmetics in Smite 1.
It’s an elegant solution, and a way to reward players for their loyalty.
But the decision to not port all of the skins from Smite 1 has been met with mixed reactions from fans. While some players are understanding of the developers’ decision, others are disappointed to see their favorite skins left behind.
Smite 2 was recently announced and will launch on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 on a date uncertain. The game will feature a new graphics engine, new gameplay mechanics, and a new roster of gods.
