Paladins: Champions of the Realm is a 2018 free-to-play online hero shooter video game by Hi-Rez Studios.

[6] In the Open Beta, the game appeared on September 16, 2016, in the Steam Early Access program.

The Resistance meanwhile, despite the damage caused, believes crystals are too useful to be banned from the general public, leading to them coming together to fight the Magistrate.

[11][12][13] Paladins is a team-based first-person shooter that focuses on two groups of five players each, who compete for combat-based goals.

Each champion has their own weapons, skills and fighting style; in addition, they can be enhanced and personalized from a card and skin system.

Each talent gives the champion a great advantage, but only one can be selected per game, they cannot stack.

[18] Paladins arose from the idea of making a sequel to Global Agenda, which focused on improving PvP game modes, it was initially announced in 2012 and scheduled for release in mid-2013.

The developers claim they were worried about being compared to Overwatch and initially planned to implement some changes to make Paladins different to avoid this, but according to the developers, internal testing indicated players enjoyed the current version of the game, causing them to stick with their original plan.

[6] In the Open Beta, the game appeared on September 16, 2016, in the Steam Early Access program.

In June 2018, one month after its official release (Open Beta), the game reached an average of 18,000 active players per day.

[39] In Paladins Strike, most of the characters from the original game are present, with all their abilities adapted to suit the canons of the MOBA genre.

The Paladins Premier League (PPL) was founded in cooperation between the developer studio and the WESA.

[47][48] On August 1, 2017, the Paladins Global Series started, which is a community tournament with prizes worth 350,000 US dollars.

[52] Paladins now has an active esports scene with several major tournaments per year, such as World Championships and DreamHack competitions (as of December 2019).

"[64] Gamereactor rated the game 7/10, praising the various characters, customization and maps, stating "Paladins might just win you over if you give it a try, and we'd definitely recommend you to do so".

[66] Common Sense Media gave the game 4/5 stars, describing it as a "Colorful multiplayer arena" that "offers frenetic team fun".

There's plenty of depth to it, and the wide pool of characters and abilities means everyone's tastes are catered for.

Finally free from having to defend itself from those incessant comparisons, the game has come into its own as Hi-Rez Studios' fast paced development and eSports focused agenda has endowed it with an identity that stands apart from anything else on the market.

Hi-Rez has accomplished one of the closest matches to the other versions available, crafting a 60fps title where online competition with Xbox One players feels balanced and fair.

[72] PC Zone listed Paladins 2nd in their top "5 Best Free-to-Play Games on Steam in 2020", calling it "appealing".

"[74] CulturedVultures ranked Paladins 3rd in their list of the "20 Best Free Games on Steam", declaring "Paladins: Champions of the Realm offers what Overwatch does without any fees: glorious and fun team battles with gun-toting and magic-wielding characters, each with a background story, in well-designed maps".

"[77][78][79] In 2018, Hi-Rez Studios CEO Stew Chisam pointed out the similarities between the Paladins champion Ash and Overwatch hero Brigitte, stating "If I happened to notice and point out any similarities between these two characters, would that make me the Pot calling the Kettle black, or the Kettle calling the Pot black?