Hi-Rez Studios Hit by New Wave of Layoffs Affecting Dozens of Developers

A minimum of 20 employees have been let go in a fresh round of layoffs at Hi-Rez Studios, the developer behind Smite. Although the studio has not officially announced the layoffs, numerous statements from affected developers have been compiled by the Smite subreddit community. The recent layoffs, described as 'massive', coincide with the launch of Smite 2, which transitioned to a free-to-play model last month after initially debuting as a premium early access title. Broadcast producer William Stonier expressed his disappointment, stating, 'I'm heartbroken to announce that I was affected by the layoffs at Hi-Rez Studios today.' Having worked on live broadcast production for 3.5 years, Stonier is now looking to take his next career step. These layoffs follow a previous round in October, where Hi-Rez Studios underwent an 'internal reorganisation and reprioritisation', resulting in the layoff of several team members. Additionally, nearly 30 employees were let go in June 2023 due to the studio's restructuring efforts. The gaming industry has witnessed significant job losses in January 2025, with over 750 developers affected by cuts and closures at various studios, including Freejam, Splash Damage, and Ubisoft. This week has seen further layoffs at ProbablyMonsters, Iron Galaxy, and Sumo Group.