God-based MOBA Smite just announced a huge crossover event that promises to bring in characters from the critically acclaimed Avatar franchise.
Less than two weeks after the Smite Great Dreamer update—featuring their newest God, “Cthulu”—publisher Hi-Rez Studios announced even more big news coming the way of fans next month.
Smite is teaming up with popular American kids channel Nickelodeon to bring in characters from their hit TV-shows Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, which will be the main focus of the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena’s (MOBA) upcoming Battle Pass.
Hi-Rez Games has yet to announce a specific release date for Smite’s next Battle Pass, though they are eyeing a July 2020 debut.
Water. 💧
Earth. 🌿
Fire. 🔥
Air. 💨Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Now, they're coming to the Battleground!
SMITE is teaming up with @Nickelodeon for our next Battle Pass, featuring characters from Avatar: The Last Airbender & The Legend of Korra! pic.twitter.com/htwDoYTz26
— SMITE (@SMITEGame) June 22, 2020
Who’s heading to the world of Smite?
So far, the American publisher has revealed three Avatar characters who will be joining the fray: Aang, Zuko, and Korra.
It’s important to note that the upcoming crossover characters won’t be new Gods in the world of Smite, but reskins of existing ones that include brand new effects and animations.
Aang will be featured as a special skin of the master wizard Merlin, Zuko will be the God of the summer storm Susano’s alternate costume, and Kora will be the Goddess of winter Skadi’s newest look.
Fans of the series will be happy to know that the Avatar squad will have two variations in terms of appearance. Gamers will be able to choose between classic Aang or his ultimate Avatar form, scruffy-haired Zuko, or his Blue Spirit outfit, and finally, classic Korra or her short-haired Avatar form.
Smite’s upcoming battle pass will mark the second time the third-person MOBA has pulled off a collaboration event, with the previous one being an RWBY crossover.
Avatar’s disappointing history in video games
Despite the franchise’s critical reception as an animated TV-series, its video game ventures were not nearly as well-received.
Nickelodeon’s pride and joy dropped its first video game called Avatar: The Last Airbender back in 2006, which was released for pretty much all the consoles available at the time.
The action-adventure title received generally mediocre reviews from the majority of gaming publications but still managed to perform well commercially due to its household name.
Avatar: The Last Airbender sparked two sequels—The Burning Earth and Into the Inferno—both of which had similar receptions as its predecessor.
Korra’s Avatar spin-off series also received two video game titles, The Legend of Korra and The Legend of Korra: A New Era Begins. Unfortunately, neither of them fared any better than the previous entries in the franchise.
Smite’s Avatar Battle Pass will be Aang and friends’ first return to video games in almost six years, and it’s looking like Hi-Rez Studios is finally going to give them the gaming experience they deserve.
Image courtesy of SMITEgame/Twitter