The free-to-play online FPS Paladins, which began open beta testing in 2016, will go into full release on May 8, developer Hi-Rez Studios announced today. The studio also released the mobile shooter Paladins Strike today for iOS and Android devices, which will enable players to unlock two free skins in Paladins. 

"We are so excited for the official release of Paladins," executive producer Chris Larson said. "We really want to thank all of our dedicated Beta players for the time and effort they have put into helping Paladins grow. This Launch Celebration is about our players—only with their feedback were we able to make Paladins the amazing game it is today, with drastically improved UI, console aiming, presentation, and gameplay." 

There were a few bumpy patches on the way to release: An update in early 2017 resulted in "pay to win" complaints, and then near the end of the year there was a similar eruption of anger over loot boxes. Despite all that, user reviews on Steam are "very positive" and more importantly, it remains well into the top 20 list, with a peak concurrent player count today of 25,000. 

Hi-Rez is also looking to expand Paladins into the sweet, lucrative Battle Royale genre: The studio announced a BR mode called Paladins: Battlegrounds in January, but decided shortly after to spin it off as an entirely separate game, Paladins Realm Royale, which is now in closed alpha testing. 

Anyone who played Paladins during the beta phase will also be given 200 Crystals, a premium currency used for purchasing cosmetics, for logging in between May 8-31. The beta will continue right up to the full launch, so you've still got most of a week to be eligible for the freebie. All of the game's Champions will also be unlocked until May 7, which makes this week a particularly good time to try it out. And there will be an Esports Superstars: Paladins launch tournament running May 5-6, with six teams including Natus Vincere, SK Gaming, G2 Esports, and Fnatic battling it out for a slice of a $100,000 prize pool. 

A lot has happened since Hi-Rez Studios announced Battlegrounds, a battle royale mode for hero-shooter Paladins, in January. A month and some player testing later, the developer decided to rename the mode and split it off as a separate game, called Paladins Realm Royale. That involved some "aggressive changes" that halted testing for a while. Now it's back, and Hi-Rez is inviting players to a closed alpha.

Keys are going to be difficult to come by: Hi-Rez president Stewart Chisam tweeted a link to a sign-up page yesterday with instructions for how to take part, but within hours there were no keys left. Hi-Rez says that it will be "accepting sign-ups for more testers soon", so keep your eyes peeled on the Paladins forums.

As for what Realm Royale will look like, players that sign up aren't allowed to post any video or images of the game, so expect detail to be sparse. However, Hi-Rez gave us a peek at the game's weapon crafting system and its map in a forum post yesterday. Players will be looting weapons, armour and abilities across the map, and as they do so they'll have the option to break any item down into Shards. Collect 100 Shards and you'll be able to visit one of the forges dotted around the map to craft a random legendary weapon or ability.

I like the sound of the system, because it gives you a reason to interact with loot that you'd normally leave alone. As Hi-Rez says, some players might end up guarding forges in the hope of catching other players in the act and stealing their loot, which means every trip there will be a balance of risk and reward.

You can see the forging system in action in the screenshot below, alongside a picture of the game's map. It's split into five larger sections, the most interesting of which look to be Badlands—a sandy area to the top left—and Everfrost, an icy zone in the top right.