Paladins is a free-to-play fantasy team shooter from Hi-Rez Studios, and its pitch was never about locking players in. The game’s own summary asks players to wield guns and magic as a Champion of the Realm, customizing a core set of abilities “to play exactly how you want to play.” Hi-Rez published it; Evil Mojo Games, an internal Hi-Rez studio, developed it. It runs on PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.
Trailer, via Paladins by Evil Mojo Games.
The Realm and Its Two Factions
Paladins takes place in a fantasy world called the Realm, a largely medieval place filled with elves, dwarves, dragons and other fantasy races. The central conflict pits the Magistrate against the Resistance. The Magistrate rules the Realm and wants to keep it safe by restricting magic, mostly the magic crystals that corrupt individuals have used to cause chaos and destruction. The Resistance argues the crystals are too useful to ban from the general public. That disagreement becomes a war.
Many playable characters belong to one faction or the other. Others belong to neither. Some work alone. Some serve groups like the Abyss, a collection of monsters from another dimension, or the Pyre, angelic beings who hate the Abyss. There is also the Thousand Hands Guild, a criminal empire, and the Darkness/Maw, alien monsters that consume worlds.
That is a lot of lore for a game where five players shoot at five other players. But the factions give the roster a shape. When you pick a Champion, you are picking a side, or a refusal to pick one.
Champions, Roles and the No-Switch Rule
Paladins is a team-based first-person shooter built around two groups of five. Each player chooses a Champion. No Champion can be repeated on the same team, and once you lock in, you cannot change during the match. That rule does more for the game than any single ability.
The cast is diverse by design. Sharpshooting humans. Mech-riding goblins. Mystical elves. Jetpack-clad dragons. Each Champion brings a unique set of abilities, and new Champions are added regularly. Characters are divided into four roles: frontline, damage, support and flanker.
Champions can be enhanced and personalized through a card and skin system. The card system lets you tune your core set of abilities so a Champion plays the way you want. The interface is customizable too, with avatars and borders that symbolize your profile, plus titles for reaching mastery level 30 with a Champion.
A Long Road From Global Agenda 2
Paladins did not appear out of nowhere. It was first announced on October 3, 2012, as Global Agenda 2, scheduled for release in mid-2013. Developers described it as a sequel, or spiritual sequel, to the PvP mode of Global Agenda. When Global Agenda closed, the team decided to turn the project into a new franchise instead. That decision brought several delays and several name changes. The game finally became Paladins in early August 2015.
There were pre-alpha and alpha versions during 2015, but they were not shown until August 3, 2015, when outlets like IGN were allowed to show game content. Much of that content had already leaked in September 2014, despite the developers’ attempts to keep it quiet. The closed beta started on November 17, 2015. The open beta arrived on September 16, 2016, through Steam Early Access.
The game’s release date is given as 2017 in the source material. Wikipedia dates the full release to May 8, 2018, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with a Nintendo Switch version following on June 12, 2018. The two dates do not agree, and the source does not resolve the conflict.
The Numbers Behind Paladins
- Release year: 2017 (source entry); Wikipedia gives May 8, 2018 for Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
- Switch version: June 12, 2018 (Wikipedia)
- First announced: October 3, 2012, as Global Agenda 2
- Renamed Paladins: early August 2015
- Closed beta: November 17, 2015
- Open beta on Steam Early Access: September 16, 2016
- Switch support ended: June 21, 2023
- Active development halted: February 6, 2025
- Critic aggregate score: 7.9/10 (six outlets)
- Player count cited by the game: 25+ million
What the Card System Actually Does
The card and skin system is the part of Paladins that rewards time. You pick a Champion, then you tune the core abilities with cards. The game describes it as customizing your core set of abilities to play exactly how you want to play. Because a Champion cannot be repeated on the same team and cannot be changed mid-match, the build you bring is the build you play.
The skin side is cosmetic. The card side is not.
How Paladins Compares to Its Own History
| Version | Date | Platform reach | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global Agenda 2 (announced) | October 3, 2012 | None shipped | Renamed, delayed |
| Closed beta | November 17, 2015 | PC | Ended |
| Open beta / Steam Early Access | September 16, 2016 | PC | Ended |
| Full release | May 8, 2018 (Wikipedia) | Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One | Live |
| Switch release | June 12, 2018 | Nintendo Switch | Support ended June 21, 2023 |
| Development halt | February 6, 2025 | All | Active development stopped |
Count the dates yourself and the arc is short. Announcement to full release is a little under six years by the calendar. Full release to the end of Switch support is under five. That is a compressed run for a game the source says has drawn more than 25 million players, a figure that is the game’s own claim and not a measurement.
The Score, and What It Means
The published critical score for Paladins is 7.9/10, drawn from an aggregate of six outlets. That is the number the source gives. It is not a rave and it is not a dismissal, and the source attaches no further reading to it.
The no-switch rule and the card system are the two mechanics that shape how a match plays. They force commitment. You cannot swap out of a bad matchup, so you have to build for it in advance. The role split — frontline, damage, support, flanker — gives five strangers something to sort out before the match starts. The faction lore gives the roster a frame, even if most players will never read it.
The runway is documented. Announced in 2012, delayed, renamed several times, leaked in 2014, closed beta in 2015, open beta in 2016, released in 2017 by the source’s own entry. The source records the delays without saying what they did to the finished game.
The 25+ million player figure is the game’s own claim. It is a cited number, not a measurement, and the source treats it that way.
Switch support ended on June 21, 2023. Active development halted on February 6, 2025, following layoffs at Evil Mojo. The source gives the layoffs no date, so the gap between them and the halt is not known. That is the detail that outlasts any review score.
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