Smite 2 won't launch with all the original game's content because just porting the skins would take "about 246 person-years of work," so the devs are giving you money instead

Smite 2 is making a clean break from the original game, and it won't launch with all the content you might've bought in the MOBA over the years. As a result, developer Hi-Rez Studios is giving you money back for every penny you've spent in Smite.

"For every Gem that you’ve ever spent in Smite 1 - free or purchased - you’ll receive a Legacy Gem in Smite 2," as the devs explain in an official FAQ. "Legacy Gems can be used to pay for 50% of the price of most in-game purchases in Smite 2 - so things like skins, Battle Passes, and events in Smite 2 will be half-off until you spend all of your Legacy Gems."

So you're basically getting half of all the money you spent in Smite 1 back in Smite 2. If you purchase a Founder's Pack for Smite 2, however, your Legacy Gems will be doubled, effectively making this incentive a full refund via in-game currency. Hi-Rez Studios hasn't announced how much those Founder's Packs will cost, but if you've dumped any serious cash into Smite over the past decade, that might end up being quite a deal.

Smite 2 is promising a "multi-generational leap" over the original, moving from Unreal Engine 3 to Unreal 5, and that means that the devs have had to rebuild everything from the ground up. As a result, the sequel is ditching a lot of the original game's content. "To just port every skin to Smite 2 would take about 246 person-years of work," the devs explain. "And we couldn’t both do that, and make Smite 2 as amazing as we knew it could be if we focused on starting anew."

For now, Smite 1 will continue to operate independently of Smite 2, which is set to offer its first alpha test in spring 2024.

Smite is one of the best MOBAs out there.