Update:

Hi-Rez Studios COO Todd Harris has provided an additional glimpse into Paladins ' development in a lengthy post , including uploaded videos and screenshots that show early class prototypes, character abilities, and reward chests dating back to the early, pre-alpha days of the project that would become Paladins.

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While Overwatch is a fine game, it was not the inspiration for Paladins. Game development is an interactive process with ideas coming from many past projects. For the hero shooter genre, the game that deserves the most credit is Team Fortress 2. We released a TF2 inspired class-based shooter called Global Agenda way back in 2010. Paladins was conceived as a fantasy version of Global Agenda and of the approximately 85 combat abilities currently in Paladins, the vast majority are from the game Global Agenda we made 10 years ago.



Given the marketing of Overwatch many people do not even realize that some of our champions, like the mini-gun mech (Ruckus) and the ice block character (Evie), were available and playable in the Paladins Beta long before similar character abilities were shown in Overwatch. And specific features, such as Chests, were also demonstrated in Paladins ahead of Overwatch. People who are interested can see all this early gameplay footage on YouTube and come to their own conclusions.

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The developer behind Smite, Hi-Rez Studios, has addressed the allegations that its hero shooter Paladins: Champions of the Realm, which recently went into open beta, is copying aspects of Blizzard’s Overwatch.In a statement provided to IGN, Hi-Rez’s COO Todd Harris asserted that Overwatch “was not the inspiration for Paladins” and that characters in the game who appear to mimic Overwatch heroes “were available and playable in the Paladins beta long before similar character abilities were shown in Overwatch."Read Harris’ full statement below:Harris' statement comes in response to comparisons being made between Paladins and Overwatch, as well as a recent viral video that blended footage of the two games meant to show the games' similarities. Paladins entered closed beta on November 17, 2015, while Overwatch entered a close beta in October 2015 . IGN first went hands-on with Paladins in August 2015 , taking a look at how the game channels Team Fortress 2.IGN has reached out to Blizzard for comment about the comparisons and will update this story should they respond. Overwatch was first revealed by Blizzard at Blizzcon 2014. The game's characters D. Va and Mei — those who have been compared to Paladins' Ruckus and Evie respectively — were revealed and detailed for Overwatch at Blizzcon 2015.Paladins went into early access and open beta on Steam on September 16, while IGN recently took a look at the way Overwatch has resonated and interacted with its fans.

Jonathon Dornbush is an Associate Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter @jmdornbush