Hi-Rez announces its latest game, SMITE Rivals

With the 2016 Hi-Rez Expo well under way, it was the ideal opportunity for the company to announce their newest game, SMITE Rivals. Rather than a MOBA like classic SMITE, Rivals aims to give Clash Royale a run for its money. It's a free-to-play collectible card arena (CCA) coming to both PC and mobile, and it supports cross-platform play.

Rivals brings favorite characters from SMITE into the card collecting fray, and plays across three lanes. Players will build up their personal card collections comprised of minions, spells, and buildings before unleashing them on their opponents within the lanes to take their towers. There's a catch, though -- you only have three minutes to beat your enemy, which should add a good helping of tension to matches. It sounds like it has an exciting mix of MOBA elements, too. Will SMITE Rivals be the game to give mobile esports the boost it needs? We'll have to wait and see. There's no word on a release date just yet, but expect SMITE Rivals to launch by early 2017. For now, enjoy this preview of the game.