Smite and Smite 2 developer Hi-Rez has announced an undisclosed number of layoffs as part of what studio head Stewart Chisam calls an "internal reorganization and reprioritization".
In a lengthy post on X (formerly Twitter), Chisam says the changes Hi-Rez is making are "difficult but necessary" in order to position Smite 2 for "a long and sustainable future".
Those changes, Chisam says, include layoffs which will "disproportionately impact those in marketing and publishing roles". Some developers will be laid off as well, and the layoffs in that department will mainly be focused on devs "working on cosmetic skin content and system features".
According to Chisam, the decision to lay off some of the studio's employees comes after "a comprehensive review of our strategy and operations".
That review has led to Chisam's decision to concentrate Hi-Rez's efforts entirely on Smite 2, although the studio will still employ "small teams supporting light updates for Paladins and Smite 1".
As for what exactly will be prioritized within Smite 2, Chisam says the team is pivoting to focus on "gameplay development in the near term", including new modes, gods, and quality-of-life improvements, rather than "cosmetic and monetization features" which were originally planned for the near term.
Although the layoffs have had what Chisam calls "a real human impact at a tough time", he points out that Smite 2's development team is still larger than Smite's "throughout most of its life cycle".
Back when Smite 2 was originally unveiled, Hi-Rez and developer Titan Forge pledged to support both games simultaneously. Technically, today's announcement doesn't contradict that, although the support for Smite might not be quite as extensive as originally intended.
Chisam says Hi-Rez's goal is to create a game that "can sustain itself long into the 2030s". We'll have to wait and see whether he and his studio manage to achieve that with today's decisions.
Smite 2 is available right now on PC via Steam Early Access, as well as on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. You can check out our preview of the game here, and we've also got an interview with Smite 2's developers all about the challenges of developing it.
