So Smite has had full crossplay and cross progression between Xbox, Switch and PC for a while now, with PS4 being the usual exception for reasons that have been discussed to death now. This is something that the president of Hi-Rez (the developer) has publically called Sony out on and they recently let slip on Reddit that Hi-Rez have "weekly" talks with Sony to get them to budge. Well, it might finally be happening. I should say this is basically pure conjecture at this point so maybe i'm reading too much into it but i've put my Detective Pikachu hat on and here's my case:
So the big clue right there in the tweet is that details will be announced on the Playstation blog. You might think it's flimsy evidence but Sony hasn't promoted Smite for a long time now, especially not since crossplay went live. I imagine the obvious reason is to not keep drawing attention to the fact that at the moment PS4 players are in their own little walled garden. Clue number 2 is the fact that the blog post is happening tomorrow. The actual update show is Wednesday the 17th. Guess who currently has a deal with Hi-Rez to exclusively stream Smite tournaments? Mixer, which is owned by... Microsoft. You'll notice they don't share the Mixer link, in two previous tweets showing off new skins that will be revealed on the patch show they very clearly advertise mixer.com/SMITEGame as the place to check out all the details. If Sony have come to an agreement with Hi-Rez it makes sense that they don't wanna give free advertising to Microsoft. Also, the blog update is on the 16th. The actual patch show is on the 17th. Hi-Rez have never actually used a blog post to fully reveal Gods so it seems safe to say that the full scoop will be in the show on the 17th, so what else could they really have to talk about on a Sony blog?
Earlier today Smite went down briefly while they sorted out "matchmaking issues". Not like it's the first time they've had to fix their game but it's the first time IIRC since crossplay went live that matchmaking has been the problem. Are Hi-Rez prepping their matchmaking to include PS4 players and accidently broke something? This is a definite reach for sure but it's a possibility. Then there is this little nugget on the Smite website:
Sands and Skies Update Show:
Is this all wishful thinking bullshit? Very possible. But here's the thing. I can't think of a more tone-deaf move than to announce details about a big new update jointly together with Sony the day before the actual update show if they aren't going to address the very obvious elephant in the room. Not so much for Sony, we've established that they aren't too fussed about how they come across with the vocal minority when it comes to anything related to crossplay/cross progression but Hi-Rez are opening themselves up to a lot of angry PS4 customers if this is just some advertising gimmick they arranged with Sony. Could well be this is what's happening but holy shit if that's the case Hi-Rez need to have a think about their promotional strategies.
Well, either way, we're gonna find out tomorrow. I really hope that we will soon be welcoming PS4 players into the fold, i've given Sony a lot of shit in the past for some of their recent actions but this would be an important next step. Smite isn't a huge Fortnite/Rocket League game by any stretch of the imagination, Hi-Rez is a company with no ties to Epic and Smite in particular is a game Sony could happily keep ignoring if they aren't legitimately interested in opening up full crossplay. If it happens i think it would be a very encouraging move for other smaller developers and publishers who are pushing hard for something that will make their games a better experience for their customers.
So the big clue right there in the tweet is that details will be announced on the Playstation blog. You might think it's flimsy evidence but Sony hasn't promoted Smite for a long time now, especially not since crossplay went live. I imagine the obvious reason is to not keep drawing attention to the fact that at the moment PS4 players are in their own little walled garden. Clue number 2 is the fact that the blog post is happening tomorrow. The actual update show is Wednesday the 17th. Guess who currently has a deal with Hi-Rez to exclusively stream Smite tournaments? Mixer, which is owned by... Microsoft. You'll notice they don't share the Mixer link, in two previous tweets showing off new skins that will be revealed on the patch show they very clearly advertise mixer.com/SMITEGame as the place to check out all the details. If Sony have come to an agreement with Hi-Rez it makes sense that they don't wanna give free advertising to Microsoft. Also, the blog update is on the 16th. The actual patch show is on the 17th. Hi-Rez have never actually used a blog post to fully reveal Gods so it seems safe to say that the full scoop will be in the show on the 17th, so what else could they really have to talk about on a Sony blog?
Earlier today Smite went down briefly while they sorted out "matchmaking issues". Not like it's the first time they've had to fix their game but it's the first time IIRC since crossplay went live that matchmaking has been the problem. Are Hi-Rez prepping their matchmaking to include PS4 players and accidently broke something? This is a definite reach for sure but it's a possibility. Then there is this little nugget on the Smite website:
Sands and Skies Update Show:
- On this Update Show, we will be diving into SMITE's two newest Gods: Horus and Set!
- We have some big announcements to make on this show – you won't wanna miss this!
- Come see some other epic new content coming to SMITE over at mixer.com/SMITEGame at 3pm Easter Time on Wednesday!
- We've got a festive sale planned for this weekend, so check the in-game store and our social channels to see what deals are going on!
- Earn 2x Favor, XP, and Worshipers when you play this weekend!
Is this all wishful thinking bullshit? Very possible. But here's the thing. I can't think of a more tone-deaf move than to announce details about a big new update jointly together with Sony the day before the actual update show if they aren't going to address the very obvious elephant in the room. Not so much for Sony, we've established that they aren't too fussed about how they come across with the vocal minority when it comes to anything related to crossplay/cross progression but Hi-Rez are opening themselves up to a lot of angry PS4 customers if this is just some advertising gimmick they arranged with Sony. Could well be this is what's happening but holy shit if that's the case Hi-Rez need to have a think about their promotional strategies.
Well, either way, we're gonna find out tomorrow. I really hope that we will soon be welcoming PS4 players into the fold, i've given Sony a lot of shit in the past for some of their recent actions but this would be an important next step. Smite isn't a huge Fortnite/Rocket League game by any stretch of the imagination, Hi-Rez is a company with no ties to Epic and Smite in particular is a game Sony could happily keep ignoring if they aren't legitimately interested in opening up full crossplay. If it happens i think it would be a very encouraging move for other smaller developers and publishers who are pushing hard for something that will make their games a better experience for their customers.
