Hi-Rez Studio, the team behind several popular free-to-play online games, is currently going through a round of heavy layoffs.
As part of this restructuring, ongoing support for Smite 1, Paladins, and Rogue Company has been shelved in favour of fully prioritising development on Smite 2.
"In light of challenging market conditions, Hi-Rez is implementing a reduction in force across our Rally Here, Evil Mojo Games, and Titan Forge Games divisions," reads a statement posted to the studio's Discord. "This was a difficult decision aimed at ensuring the long-term sustainability of our studios."
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The "newly streamlined operations" will solely focus on Smite 2, the studio's latest game and sequel to its popular MOBA, which still has a lot of players in its own right. It seems that even some who were already working on the sequel have been made redundant.
"SMITE 1, Paladins and Rogue Company servers will remain available for the foreseeable future, but no further major updates are currently planned for these games," the statement reads. "We plan to keep the servers and currently available content running as long as possible to allow you to continue to enjoy the game."
It goes on to acknowledge and thank all the people impacted by the layoffs, which apparently number in the dozens. "Each affected team member has received eight weeks' notice and has our unwavering support in their search for new opportunities. They are exceptionally talented, and any studio would greatly benefit from their skills and passion."
Layoffs have been rampant across the games industry over the last couple of years, so this sadly doesn't come as much of a surprise, but it's still a huge shame to see so many people suddenly out of work. We can only hope those affected land on their feet.
Are you playing any of Hi-Rez Studios' games? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
[source x.com, via gamedeveloper.com, dexerto.com, resetera.com]
Comments 12
Mismanagement at it's finest the swirl of rumors surrounding this company over the past few years have not been good
Damn,as a Paladins player since 2018,this is sad to see.
Unfortunately it's been a long time coming,barely Hi-rez is has been barely funding the devs of Paladins for years now,so the gane stopped growing and many bugs,server problems, and perfromance issues still presist.
Hi-rez is a horrible company, and has only cared about Smite, and the new hot game they cash in to follow the trend,then they let it die.
Paladins had been treated as the step-child,which is unfair,the game is about 9 years old now(ehich is great for a hero shooter ,since they usually die off quickly),and has a great gameplay.
Rogue company was fun for a short while but meh..we all seen this coming
@Oz_Who_Dat_Dare lol would love to see your earlier drafts if this is where you landed on that one
@Oz_Who_Dat_Dare It’s not just the gaming industry either. The whole macrosystem is trending like this as inflation increases and consumer spending remains limited. Companies are finally showing their fangs and reducing redundancies because it’s currently culturally acceptable. We just notice it more in the gaming industry because we all follow it. It’s absolutely frightening what is going on these days, especially as these trends are being masked by an economy that still looks robust for analysts. I truly hope for the best for everyone affected by this, including those currently employed. While they may feel safe today, there’s no doubt that there’s fears of tomorrow. Hopefully there’s a new renaissance around the bend where the laid off developers create new studios with successes to push gaming forward.
@Oz_Who_Dat_Dare The future of gaming is safe. Tools exist for almost anyone to make a game now at any budget.
There will always be people who want to play videogames, and there will always be people who want to make videogames. Even if all the money got drained out of the industry games would still get made and played.
The videogame crash itself wasn't as big as it is made out to be. It was 2 years, and it only happened in the US. Games kept selling fine in Canada, Japan and Europe. Mostly it was about US retailers being reluctant to stock games and consoles after some high profile flops. We're not reliant on retailers like that any more (or consoles)
But whilst gaming is safe, the people who work in it aren't. Videogames will keep getting made, but the less people might make them, or they might make less profit. It's always tough in creative industries because so many people want these jobs, and the finances don't necessarily support that.
@Oz_Who_Dat_Dare I agree and I’ve been voicing this concern for a while now, but the influencer culture we live in is literally destroying jobs by being highly critical of nearly everything in the industry as well (and stifling creativity as new IPs are consistently being bombed or forgotten in favor of the 9/10s and 10/10s). There’s this strange symbiosis of toxic characteristics that are melding from that, some of the iffy business practices of the industry, and so many other factors that have come to light the last maybe 5 years, and, when we turn toward gaming for escapism from those realities in other fields for our day to day jobs, I think there’s this panic state a little bit. In all honesty, it may be an interesting Soapbox article to see on Pushsquare in the future discussing the disparate voices of gamers in the face of the current challenges we all facing. I feel the staff here would handle the subject with appropriate tact.
Smite 2. To me forced crossplay = uninstall.
I mean... I tried a bunch of their games over the years. I think Paladins probably got the most hours out of me, but that grew stale pretty quickly.
I tried Smite (love the idea of a TPS MOBA) and it was meh. Gave Smite 2 a shot the other week and... it felt literally identical to the game I played years ago. So it was a very quick uninstall.
Putting all their eggs into the basket of a game that, as a SUPREMELY casual player, did literally nothing new or engaging is... a choice. I bet the studio shuts down within 2 years.
Also... Why don't these F2P games advertise? They launch as a beta to barely any fanfare, then disappear into their niche of fans and you just never hear about them. It's consistent across the industry and it's bizarre to me. Do they really all truly just rely on word of mouth? It's so crazy you sell a product but expect success without, you know, informing customers of its existence.
There's just too many games releasing at the moment. I see good games released on Steam that might have been minor hits some years ago, but hardly have any reviews because the market is so oversaturated at the moment. It's like everyone thought the pandemic situation would continue forever.
@Oz_Who_Dat_Dare it was a reset of the industry in one country (admittedly the richest one). Videogame sales continued to grow uninterrupted elsewhere. It was fatal for Atari, but Nintendo existed before the crash and existed afterwards.
Paladins, one of the few online only multi-player games I've gotten the plat trophy 🏆
Such good memories playing it before they started to remove features like 3rd person.
Been years since I've last played so I'll check it out one more time before it's gone in a year or two.
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