SMITE Welcomes The Newest God, The Jade Emperor Yu Huang, This Month

Hi-Rez Studios MOBA, SMITE, just released the cinematic of their next god, The Jade Emperor, Yu Huang. The addition of the new character brings the number of playable gods in the game to 120 and makes Yu Huang the 15th Chinese pantheon in the game. The Jade Emperor is due to release in April. It does feel like poor planning to release a Chinese deity in the month associated with the number four, as that is an unlucky number in Chinese culture due to it being nearly homophonous to the word “death.”

Still, the addition of The Jade Emperor is an exciting addition considering that Yu Huang is considered to be one of the most important and popular deities in Chinese mythology as he is considered to be the Ruler of all Heavens. In folk religion he is even worshiped as the protector of all mankind, making the line: “For eons, I have governed Heaven and Earth. Man or god, each is heard,” in the cinematic quite fitting. Still, due to how often The Jade Emperor appears in stories and mythology, it will be interesting to see what direction Hi-Rez decides to take his lore.

Luckily, fan’s don’t have to wait for too long to learn about Yu Huang’s kit, SMITE’s twitter announced that: “Update Notes will be released with the Update Show this upcoming Wednesday April 13!” That’s just one day away! While you wait for the official information, why not check out the cinematic for SMITE’s new god.