The goal was never to be ‘grubby’: Smite 2 dev defends sequel’s controversial pricing changes

Smite 2 executive producer KillGoon has defended the game’s controversial pricing structure following waves of criticism from players after the launch of the 24/7 alpha.

The 24/7 closed alpha launched on Aug. 27 across all platforms for players who purchased one of Smite 2‘s three Founder Editions, with one of the main bonuses for the purchase being doubling the amount of Legacy Gems received.

Legacy Gems in Smite 2 are a form of currency given to players based on how much hard currency was spent in the original Smite, rewarding them for their loyalty and providing a different option to make purchases than Diamonds—Smite 2’s premium currency.

Players have been disappointed with what they have found in the shop, however, as the majority of skins in Smite 2 are not fully purchasable with Legacy Gems, and instead, half of the payment is required to be in Diamonds.

In a Reddit post on Aug. 29, KillGoon provided further details on the structure of skin pricing in Smite 2 and how the forms of currency work, explaining that the intention was never to be “malicious” or “money grubby.”

In the post, the dev explained that the original Smite rewarded players for purchasing the larger bundles of Gems, with twice as many Gems per dollar in the $100 pack than in the $5 pack—something he described as “more aggressive than any other game” and “unwelcoming to players” who want to spend smaller amounts of money.

The previous price points also did not work with Smite 2, he explained, given that the new Ascension Passes will cost $10 per God, which would have required players to purchase the $15 bundle as the $8 bundle would not have been enough.

The dev shared a comparison table of the two currencies with the changes in his post, showing a $4.99 pack of Diamonds in Smite 2 providing around 120 Diamonds per dollar, whereas a pack of Gems with the same price point in the original Smite provided just 40 Gems per dollar.

KillGoon also emphasized that “skin pricing can and will change” in the future and skins will be priced based on their Rarity. Any classic skins added to Smite 2 can be purchased entirely with Legacy Gems, like the Joki Loki skin and Meltdown Sol after the current Twitch drop event.

Two classic skins are planned to be added in “every update for the foreseeable future,” with the next pair to drop being Tokyo Knight Ares and Hot Diggity Odin. No date for the next update has been provided.