Hi-Rez Studios Suffers Layoffs as Smite 2 Struggles in Early Access

Smite 2 developer Hi-Rez Studios has laid off an undisclosed number of employees as the MOBA sequel struggles throughout its early access period.

Hi-Rez Studios CEO Stewart Chisam announced the layoffs on X/Twitter alongside a shift in strategy for Smite 2, which launched in early access on August 27 and is planned for a full, free-to-play launch in 2025.

"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," Chisam said.

"As part of this internal reorganization and reprioritization, we are laying off some team members across Hi-Rez. This will disproportionately impact those in marketing and publishing roles, as well as some from our Evil Mojo, G&A, and Titan Forge divisions. The game team roles impacted disproportionally affect our team working on cosmetic skin content and system features."

Hi-Rez is now focusing entirely on Smite 2 beyond "small teams supporting light updates" for its other games. It is "exclusively prioritizing gameplay development in the near term" instead of the cosmetic and monetization features previously planned.

Chisam assured the development team hasn't been decimated by the layoffs, saying it's still a "significant size" and larger than the development team behind the original Smite for the majority of its lifecycle.

"Our goal for Smite 2 in the near term is to create the best possible game experience for our community and a game that provides joy to players and can sustain itself long into the 2030s," Chisam added.

"As we’ve gained experience through the Alpha, the process of migrating gods from Smite 1 to Smite 2 is now clearer, and we also better understand what players want from the game. We’re doubling down on ensuring this transition meets player expectations and moves faster, taking into account the lessons we have learned in the early alpha."

Smite 2 was announced in January as essentially a complete remake of the original game but with revamps across the board. Bringing over the skins players have collected for the last decade isn't so easy, however, as Hi-Rez Studios previously said porting all 1,600 of them would take 246 years worth of work.

The sequel has not necessarily gone down well with fans, however. Only 55% of its Steam reviews are positive and concurrent player numbers have fallen off, having premiered at 12,549 but dropped off to a 24 hour peak of jut 1,869, according to player tracking website SteamDB.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.