Smite 2 dev says Soulslike popularity has led to MOBA resurgence

The MOBA genre has enjoyed a resurgence this year, and one Smite 2 dev says it could be down to the growing popularity of Soulslikes.

Smite 2 began its 24/7 closed alpha on Aug. 27, the same month that Predecessor, a game built from the now defunct Paragon, released its 1.0 version—and Valve revealed Deadlock in arguably the worst-kept secret in gaming.

MOBA games are experiencing a revival after the genre remained mostly stagnant for the past five years, and Smite 2 executive producer Alex Cantatore says it’s partly down to the popularity of Soulslikes.

Games like Black Myth Wukong and Elden Ring were critical hits, attracting millions of players, and they boast a high learning curve—but players are taking on the challenge rather than shying away. Due to this, Cantatore feels MOBAs are being viewed differently by players more willing to learn the game thanks to the feeling of triumph when they’re successful.

Speaking to PC Gamer, Cantatore described MOBAs as “the Soulslike of multiplayer genres” and, from experiences with the likes of Elden Ring, “players understand that it feels great to master a difficult game.”

Though I’ve never really taken to Soulslikes, I can certainly echo what Cantatore said about the positive feeling when you get to grips with a game like Smite 2 and, ever since the early days of Smite, one of my favorite things to do is trying out new Gods.

While I’ve never quite been ready to go uber-competitive in Conquest, there’s no better feeling than dominating a match in Smite 2.