Hi-Rez Studios has been the subject of much controversy with Paladins: Champions of the Realm, especially when it comes to the Cards Unbound system. However, the developer seems to have focused its efforts elsewhere with the announcement of Paladins: Battlegrounds.
The Battle Royale-esque mode introduces squad play only but will still have 100 players duking it out on a map. When will this mode be available? According to Hi-Rez CEO Erez Goren and COO Todd Harris in conversation with DualShockers, it will be within the first quarter of 2018.
Harris stated that, “We want to put it in real players’ hands by the end of this quarter, so that’s what we are shooting for.”
Goren was more specific though plans still seem tentative. “So hopefully, by end of February (March timeframe at the latest) we will have people testing it externally. I don’t know if it will be wide release at that point.”
At this point, we can just assume that the beta for Paladins: Battlegrounds will be available within this quarter. We don’t know how hero abilities, cooldowns, cards, leveling up and progression will play a part in the new mode. But it is free to play. That to count for something.