Two Years After Development Ceased, Tribes: Ascend Being Supported Again

Hi-Rez Studios plans to again support its free-to-play shooter, Tribes: Ascend, beginning with the release of a new map.

This was announced by Hi-Rez CEO Erez Goren on Twitter this afternoon, where he explained that this is being made possible by the success of Hi-Rez's two most recent games.

"With the success of Smite and Paladins, we have more resources than ever in the Studio," he wrote. "We can now afford to go back and improve older game [sic]."

Exactly what Hi-Rez has in store for the game is unclear; Goren would only say it's "getting a new map and some other small changes as well as continuing support." He also suggested that the plan is for public test servers for this to go live "in about two weeks."

Sean McBride, the former art director on Ascend and Smite, will now serve as Ascend's creative director.

Back in July 2013, Hi-Rez announced on Reddit that it would be putting development of Ascend on hold, at least temporarily, in order to focus on Smite. This didn't sit well with many fans, who hoped that development would continue. It's a strange situation, with the game responsible for Ascend's development being discontinued (Smite) now apparently being the reason it will continue.