"From day one of development, Paladins was designed with console in mind," the developer wrote on its website. "We’ve enlisted some big-name console gamers to make sure the control scheme feels just right."Similar to Smite, another Hi-Rez Studios game, Paladins uses a "fair free-to-play model." Players can unlock each of the current 17 champions and all of those released in the future for $20. Conversely, you can unlock every hero for free just by playing the game.
The fantasy-themed first-person shooter already had an open beta on PC, which was played by more than 1 million people. What's more, it's "consistently one of the top 10 most-played games on Steam."
Earlier this month, the developer responded to criticism that Paladins copied aspects of Blizzard’s Overwatch. According to Hi-Rez’s COO Todd Harris, the game's characters, who appear to mimic Overwatch heroes, "were available and playable" long before similar characters were shown in Overwatch. Michael Passalacqua is a freelance writer for IGN. Chat with him on Twitter about the New York Giants’ surprising start to the season.