Hi-Rez CEO Steward Chisam Announces “Internal Reorganization” And Layoffs, Will Now Be Focusing Entirely On Smite 2

Today, Hi-Rez announced layoffs across its divisions, including Evil Mogo, G&A, and Titan Forge. The announcement was made by company CEO Steward Chisam who noted that those most impacted by the “internal reorganization and reprioritization that prompted the layoffs will be staff in the marketing and publishing roles." That’s not to say those on the dev team aren’t impacted either. Those hit hardest are those who work on cosmetic items and system features.

Chisam’s statement goes on to state that after reviewing the company’s “strategy and operation” they have decided that the game division should “concentrate [their] efforts entirely on Smite 2”. This doesn’t mean they will be completely abandoning their other games. However, Smite 1 and Paladins will have a smaller team and receive smaller updates. As for Smite 2’s development, the team will be focused on new modes and gods for the MOBA rather than cosmetics and monetization. The overall goal is to ensure the game will be viable into the next decade.

In addition to outlining the changes within the company, Chisam’s post takes a moment to address the impact on the workers being laid off, calling it a “heartbreaking decision” that “reflects a failure in [his] leadership” for which he takes “personal accountability”. He goes on to say that the staff should not consider this a personal failure on their part.

Today, we’re making some difficult but necessary changes to ensure Hi-Rez's long-term success, with a specific focus on positioning SMITE 2 for a long and sustainable future.

As part of this internal reorganization and reprioritization, we are laying off some team members across…

— Stewart Chisam (@schisam) October 1, 2024