I don't know what exactly is happening within Hi-Rez, but they have started branching out quite fiercely. Once upon a time the only game they actively worked on was SMITE, but now they are also updating the rather ancient Tribes: Ascend, pushing the team based shooter Paladins through open beta, and are apparently even working on a 1v1 turn-based strategy game called SMITE Tactics!

There isn't much information available right now as SMITE Tactics is still in an early stage of development, but if you're interested in the basic premise and some off-screen footage, here's the recently posted teaser video:

I have to admit its certainly an interesting idea, and one that has been proven to work many times before, most notably with the recently released Duelyst. So here's to hoping Hi-Rez manages to cook up an intriguing strategy game as the world sure could use more of them.

As far as the release date is concerned, nothing specific has been said just yet, but will be a closed beta at some point later this year. If you would like to participate head over to the sign-up page and put on your luckiest socks as I can't imagine the first few waves of invites being massive in size.