Hi-Rez Announces Layoffs, Ends Major Development On Paladins

Focuses development on SMITE 2.

Update: For his part, Stewart Chisam claims he has taken a pay cut.

Not that it should be something I have to say. But I have cut my pay tremendously. You way over-estimate how much I am paid or was paid if you think that could save more than a relatively small number of jobs compared to the size of the company.

— Stewart Chisam (@schisam) October 1, 2024

Origin: It’s October and you know what that means; layoff season. Well, every season is layoff season for the gaming industry this past year. In a post on Twitter this morning, Hi-Rez’s own Stewart Chisam announced that the company would be undergoing some layoffs and restructuring in order to focus on SMITE 2 as the company’s breadwinner going forward. This is the latest round of layoffs including those in June 2023.

The layoffs will predominately affect marketing/publishing, with additional layoffs at the teams at Evil Mojo (Paladins, Rogue Company), G&A, and Titan Forge (SMITE). Chisam also noted that the game team roles most affected are in creation of cosmetic skins and system features.

You’ll notice there’s no mention of Chisam or any of the executives at Hi-Rez taking a pay cut due to their part in leading the company to its current financial situation.

As a result of the layoffs, Paladins and SMITE 1 are being relegated to “small teams supporting light updates” so the company can focus entirely on SMITE 2 as its one and only hope.

This move follows a comprehensive review of our strategy and operations. In the game division, we have decided to concentrate our efforts entirely on SMITE 2, outside of small teams supporting light updates for Paladins and SMITE 1. Within SMITE 2, we are almost exclusively prioritizing gameplay development in the near term—such as new modes and gods—as well as quality improvements—over some cosmetic and monetization features previously planned in the run-up to the game’s free-to-play launch next year.

Hi-Rez’s current portfolio consists of Divine Knockout which hasn’t had an update posted since March 2023, Realm Royale which hasn’t had an update posted since August 2023, Paladins and SMITE that are now relegated to “light updates”, and Rogue Company which hasn’t had any real updates since November 2023.

The decision to put all their eggs in one basket certainly is a bold one. SMITE 2 is currently in closed alpha on Steam aiming at a free to play launch in 2025. The game has a 55% “mixed” rating among Steam reviewers with a 24 hour concurrent peak of 1,869 players as of this publishing.

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