New MOBA 'Paragon' announced by Epic Games, coming to PS4 & PC

The PlayStation Experience was a big night for game announcements and one of the bigger ones was for “Paragon,” a new title from “Gears of War” developer Epic Games. The game will be a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) and will be coming to the PS4 and Windows PC sometime in 2016, though no official date was announced.

According to an article from Polygon, “Paragon” will mix things up by having third-person action mix with the strategic gameplay seen in most MOBA games. Both game genres are very different from one another, so seeing them mix is an experimental move on the part of the developers.

Since games of the MOBA genre have been at home with the PC and mobile devices, it is fairly interesting seeing one announced for a current-gen console. Fans of the MOBA genre usually point out that a console controller doesn’t have enough buttons or features for a game of said genre, though the PS4 does have its own keyboard now.

The solution that the developers from Epic Games has for this is giving players direct control of their chosen hero, as stated in the PlayStation Blog. Despite this, the developers stated that “Paragon” would still feel like a MOBA, as the focus is still on strategy, rather than hiding behind chest-high walls and shooting enemies.

Like most games in the MOBA genre, “Paragon” will have an ever-expanding roster of heroes to choose from. Players will be able to level up the stats of their favorite heroes with cards that can also customize their abilities.

There are also plans to let players try the game out before it’s official release, including paid early access in spring 2016 and an open beta for the summer of 2016. Players can sign up at the official Paragon website so they can be eligible for the open beta, which will be done to gain player feedback and point out any bugs that might plague the game.

With an unspecified 2016 release date, it seems like MOBA fans will be in for a long wait to play “Paragon.” Still, its rare seeing a MOBA title come to consoles, so it will be interesting to see if the PS4 version does well with fans of the strategic genre.

PlayStation Experience 2015: Paragon - Announce Trailer | PS4