Hi-Rez has announced that they have made layoffs within the company as part of an "internal reorganization and prioritization." Smite 2 is already in Early Access but requires those who are interested in playing it to purchase the Founder's Pack first before the game goes free-to-play after the first year. Studio Head Steward Chisam made a lengthy post on X, saying that the changes that Hi-Rez have made are "difficult but necessary" to be able to ensure that Smite 2 has a "long and sustainable future."
Smite was first released in 2014, using Unreal Engine 3. The game has been ported to PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and even Amazon Luna. The only place players can't play the game is on mobile. Smite has been a hugely successful game in the MOBA genre, with there being many characters to choose from and a big esports scene with multiple tournaments, which also includes the annual million-dollar Smite World Championship.
Chisam hasn't disclosed how many were laid off in the restructuring and said that "this will disproportionately impact those in marketing and publishing roles, as well as some from our Evil Mojo, G&A, and Titan Forge divisions." It's said that there will still be some developers working in small teams on Paladins and Smite to provide light updates to the games, but most of the studio is now shifting its focus entirely over to Smite 2.
In the post, it's said that the team is now pivoting their focus on "gameplay development in the near term," which will include new modes, Gods, and quality-of-life improvements for the title rather than focusing on cosmetic and monetization features, which was originally the game plan for the Smite 2 team.
Chisam has said that this has "a real human impact at a tough time," but also states that Smite 2's development team overall is larger than Smite's "throughout most of its life cycle. The team working on Gods and gameplay features (versus skins and monetization/progression/system features) is larger than the Smite 1 team ever was for such features.
In this lengthy statement, it's also mentioned that they want to make Smite 2 the best possible game experience that can sustain itself "long into the 2030s." As the game is still in the Alpha stage, it's said that they have learned a lot about the process of "migrating gods from Smite 1 to Smite 2. We're doubling down on ensuring this transition meets players expectations and moves faster."
Whether the amount of layoffs will be disclosed in the future is uncertain, and replies to the post have been turned off.
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