Paladins has gotten a lot of criticisms since its release for its surprising similarities with Overwatch. Hi-Rez Studios has finally broken their silence and has decided to open up about the ongoing issue.
The Heated Debate Between Paladins vs Overwatch
Hi-Rez Studio's team shooter launched last year around the same time as Blizzard's latest IP. According to GameSpot, the former received a lot of backlash for their characters, roles, and abilities that it seemingly shares similarities with Blizzard's first-person shooter. Because of this, many netizens quickly took to social media and online forums to bash the game for its lack of creativity and stealing ideas.
However, Hi-Rez operating officer, Todd Harris, had left a comment stating that their game had been in development many months before Overwatch. Moreover, he claimed that it would be almost impossible for their studio to copy such a large-scale game in only a few months. Moreover, the studio supposedly released their early gameplay footage even before Blizzard shared the initial details of their game.
In spite of this, the game still received a large amount of criticism from both fans and critics alike. Even so, Harris claimed that there was still some sort of silver lining to the mixed reception as it was better for the game to get some sort attention rather than being easily forgettable. With this in mind, some consumers are bound to try out their title judging by the various feedback from the internet.
Emotional Response From Ongoing Feedback
Nonetheless, the other negative and sarcastic responses from netizens were still a major blow to the team who poured their passion into making it. "It was crushing," stated art director Thomas Holt. He claimed that the whole experience was like people taking their game at face-value before actually taking the time to experience it.
He claimed that the feedback almost made the team doubt themselves and all the other potential ideas they want to put in the game. "...no matter how tough you think you are, those words get under your skin," Holt expressed. Similarly, the game was recently under fire yet again after its latest update, as per PC Gamer.
Nevertheless, the team is still proud of how their first-person shooter managed to evolve and thankful for the fans who had chosen to remain loyal to the game. Hi-Rez is still open to suggestions from fans who actually know and play the title. When it comes down to it, both Paladins and Overwatch have their own differences with respective fanbases as both games doing very well.
