Hi-Rez Studios, developers of the hugely successful MOBA title SMITE, recently announced the upcoming release of a brand new free-to-play MMOFPS game infused with strategic elements and detailed character progression, Paladins. Paladins promises to deliver an exciting new shooter experience as they couple a rich fantasy setting with the action-packed adrenaline fueled experience of today's top shooting titles.

“We’ve managed to keep Paladins under wraps for over a year now, so the dev team is really looking forward to receiving feedback from the hands-on demo at gamescom,” said Todd Harris, COO at Hi-Rez Studios. “We’ve focused on making something we find fun and competitive, and soon players will help us craft how Paladins grows from here.”

Paladins sees teams pitted against each other as each combatant enters the fray with a primary weapon, a set of combat abilities and several movement actions. Paladins are all also given a powerful mount that helps them travel between combat, allowing players to get into the thick of the action quicker. The unique progression system sees players given a customizable deck of cards that act as skills. These skills and abilities can be activated and approved as players level up in each match. This allows for incredible levels of customization and a very rewarding unlock system as players move forward in battle.

Although Hi-Rez Studios only just announced the development of Paladins the game has actually been in the works for the past year. It is currently planned for a 2016 release and is expected to arrive on both PC and current generation console platforms. Players are invited to head on over to the official website for additional information on the game, or for the chance to sign up for closed beta access to be among the first players to sample upcoming builds of the game.