Tribes: Ascend updates on hold for six months to prioritize Smite, says dev

Hi-Rez studios postponed updates to free-to-play shooter Tribes: Ascend for six months in order to focus on development for its multiplayer online battle arena Smite, according to a statement from studio co-founder Todd Harris.

Responding to questions on Reddit regarding the lack of updates to Tribes, Harris said Smite, which went into open beta earlier this week, is the developer's current priority. He added that a sequel to Tribes: Ascend was more likely to enter development than another major update to the current game.

"There are no major dev updates planned for Tribes: Ascend in the next six months," Harris wrote. "For the next six months our primary development focus is Smite. Beyond that it is [team-based online game Global Agenda 2]. And beyond that a [Tribes: Ascend 2] would be more likely than a major update to [Tribes Ascend]; but to be clear no devs are currently working toward TA2."

Harris said "if time allows" currently in-progress maps and bug fixes for Tribes: Ascend might be finished and released. Despite the cease of updates, Hi-Rez plans to continue to support the game's online community and offline events.

"We continue to support TA servers, online community events, tournaments with prizing, bringing Tribes to offline events like recent RTX and upcoming QuakeCon, and live-streaming," Harris said.