Hi-Rez Studios has today announced that the upcoming action MOBA game SMITE will begin its path to release, with a closed beta starting today at 6pm AEST. Similar to their beta of Tribes: Ascend, no character wipes are planned, allowing all player advancements to be carried forward for release.

The Closed Beta build of SMITE includes seventeen playable gods from five mythological pantheons on a fire-themed battleground map. Five gods are available for free - Artemis, Ra, Kali, Ymir, and Sun WuKong. Additional gods can be unlocked via gametime or more quickly via in-game microtransactions. Hi-Rez Studios will be adding new playable gods during the Beta period and beyond.

"We are excited to shake-up the moba genre with SMITE" says Todd Harris, Hi-Rez Studios Chief Operating Officer. "Whether you are a fan of existing DoTA type games or MMO PvP battleground play, we invite you to check out SMITE and play alongside our dev team in Beta."

For those interested in getting guaranteed beta access, Hi-Rez Studios are offering a SMITE Starter Pack at the games official website. The pack includes full access to all beta stages plus 5 free gods and permanent access to 10 additional gods - Zeus, Hades, Anubis, Vamana, Agni, Odin, Hel, Ao Kuang, He Bo, and Bastet.

SMITE will be available later this year as a free-to-play, download only title for PC.