If you're familiar with Hi-Rez's 3rd Person MOBA title Smite, you know that the premise of the game revolves around players controlling mythological figures across a wide variety of real-life pantheons across the world. This system was maintained up until the release of King Arthur and his faithful ally Merlin. Hi-Rez and Titan Forge argued that while there was no real Pantheon, modern or ancient, of worship that includes this duo, they had garnered fame and mythological status akin to playable characters who are not Gods like Arachne, Hercules, Bakasura, Scylla, and several others. Now, the Smite community is seeing something entirely new. The upcoming Smite release will introduce the first (and only for the time being) member of a new Pantheon: Cthulhu of the Great Old Ones. The introduction of a character who was created in the past 100 years by an author, rather than one that was of a real Pantheon, rubbed a few Smite fans the wrong way.

I, for one, am excited to see the release of Cthulhu, but I also clearly see the perspective of those who are unhappy with it. These kinds of people were less than happy with the introduction of King Arthur and Merlin, seeing as they are not Gods nor were they connected to any sort of Pantheon. A reasonable argument I saw once said that, if Hi-Rez and Titan Forge wanted to add these characters into the game, they should have looked deeper into Celtic Myth, where some of these stories originated. For example, Smite God The Morrigan, a Celtic Shapeshifter, exists in Arthurian Legend as the powerful enchantress Morgan Le Fay. The argument being made was that Arthurian Legends were really just English variants of Celtic Myth, which is an established Smite Pantheon.

The difference between Cthulhu and the Arthurian Gods is that King Arthur and Merlin are ancient, well over a thousand years old based on what sources you trace them to. Cthulhu, on the other hand, rose to prominence from literature written in the late 1920s. This eternally sleeping Elder God, despite his short lifespan, has garnered an unimaginably large amount of fame, and while it is not on the same level as the Arthurian Legend, the Cthulhu Mythos is vast and always expanding. It is the youngest of all the pantheons represented in Smite, but Hi-Rez and Titan Forge have given fans, at least in my opinion, a good enough excuse to do what they’ve done: Compelling Lore

Now, I was just as surprised as the next person to learn just how extensive Smite’s lore. The truth is that Hi-Rez and Titan Forge have been writing an expansive story for their game. The initial premise was simple enough: The Gods have been split into two factions, one which feels that Mortals should have control over their own destinies, and one that wants to exert greater control over their worshippers. This conflict ignites an all-out war between Gods, which results in the deaths of icons like Zeus. The conflict continued, but things changed when Hades attempted to trigger Ragnarok. While he was ultimately stopped by Bellona and Pele, what Hades set in motion would change everything.

Hades’ attempt to trigger Ragnarok stalled the world ending scenario for a time, but Hel was quick to start it up again. Hera, with the aid of Odin, Thor, and Ra, was able to defeat Hel. However, Hel had already set the events of Ragnarok in motion, and the World Serpent Jormungandr rose, as he always does, to destroy the world. However, Jormungandr’s fateful arrival was interrupted by the appearance of King Arthur and Merlin, who were able to defeat the serpent and drive him away.

Things ramped up quickly following the Gods’ stopping of Ragnarok. Set and Horus appeared to shake up the Egyptian pantheon, but things really changed with the arrival of Olorun to take the mantle of King of the Gods, and Persephone to challenge him. Persephone ignited a new war between the Gods, trapping many of them in the Underworld when they went to attempt to save Zeus, long thought to be permanently dead.

Now, something has begun corrupting the world. Mulan encountered it, and went to find the witch Baba Yaga to help her. Baba Yaga, an impossibly ancient God, knows that everything has fallen into disarray because Hera, Thor, Ra, Arthur, and Merlin prevented Ragnarok. Now, something dark and twisted is awakening, a harbinger of untold power and darkness: The Dread Cthulhu. This eldritch deity is the front line of the Great Old Ones, a priest beckoning their arrival.

We have no idea how the Gods will defeat Cthulhu, especially since the only thing keeping him at bay was Jormungandr’s cyclical destruction of the world. Regardless, don’t expect this to be a major change for how Hi-Rez and Titan Forge choose characters to add to Smite. When discussing the addition of Cthulhu, Design Director Ajax was very clear that no plans to release relatively modern legends or folklore characters were in place. Using Dracula, the Yeti, Robin Hood, and Paul Bunyon as examples of things there was no present plan to introduce. Does this mean they will never appear in the game? No, but I have a feeling a good amount of these guys don’t exactly fit the criteria that Hi-Rez and Titan Forge have for their characters.

Are you excited to see Cthulhu arrive in Smite? Do you think that Hi-Rez and Titan Forge are going too far? Talk about it in the comments below!