'Paladins: Champions of the Realm' Latest News and Updates: Developer Hi-Rez Studios Explains Game Did not Copy 'Overwatch' [DETAILS]
Hi-Rez Studios Explains How "Paladins" is Different from "Overwatch"
The gameplay trailer for "Paladins: Champions of the Realm" was released this week and was accused of looking similar to Blizzard's "Overwatch."
Game developer Hi-Rez Studios responded to the comparisons and denied that "Paladins" did not take inspiration or copied elements from "Overwatch". It was insinuated that the characters from "Paladins" were similar to those of Blizzard's shooting game.
Hi-Rez Studios Responds to 'Paladins' Copying 'Overwatch' Accusations
In response to the online issues garnered by the gameplay trailer of "Paladins", Hi-Rez's COO Todd Harris took to Reddit to explain how their game is different from "Overwatch".
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Harris explained that they started developing "Paladins" a few years ago. They were "shocked" when "Overwatch" was announced as he stated that the studio had no idea about Blizzard's plan. With the similarities in both games, Harris explains that Valve's "Team Fortress 2" is the game that should get the most credit for hero shooter games as it pioneered the genre.
Harris explains that the character abilities in "Paladins" are mostly based off of their decade-old game "Global Agenda". In the 42 abilities that were found to be similar with their game and "Overwatch", 36 were already in "Global Agenda" and another game of theirs called "Tribes Ascend".
Harris took to putting links to reference to their earlier games on the thread. The files were dated to be as early as 2010.
'Paladins' and 'Overwatch' Comparison Viral Video
IGN reports that Harris was responding to the viral video comparing the two games. Those who responded to the video frequently compared "Overwatch" characters D.Va and Mei to "Paladins" characters Ruckus and Evie as being similar.
The outlet points out that Harris has explained that "Paladins" characters Ruckus and Evie were already out in the Beta of the game before "Overwatch" characters D.Va and Mei were revealed . He added that Blizzard popularity and marketing strategy had some people doubt about where "Paladins" got their concept from. "Paladins" closed beta on November 2015 while "Overwatch" had theirs on October 2015.
Kotaku pointed out that "Paladins" release date come a bit too late as Blizzard's "Overwatch" is the highly played first person shooter game around the world. "Overwatch" has become a competitive online sport that global professional players are competing for.
Watch the 'Paladins' and 'Overwatch' Comparison Viral Video below:
