Hi-Rez Studios Cuts Senior Leadership While Keeping Smite 2 Development Team Intact

Hi-Rez Studios has laid off several senior executives as part of its ongoing restructuring efforts.

The gaming company made the unusual decision to remove top-level management instead of cutting developers working on their active projects.

The layoffs affected former CEO Stew Chisam, Executive Producer Travis Brown, and another senior staff member known as Radar.

Alex Cantatore (known as Killgoon on Reddit), who now leads the Smite 2 development team at Titan Forge, confirmed these departures in a SMITE Subreddit community.

According to Cantatore, Hi-Rez's board justified these cuts by explaining that "the company had a lot of senior management in relation to our current size."

Cantatore clarified that these changes would not impact the core development of Smite 2, which remains the studio's "core mission".

He emphasized that the team will continue improving the game while maintaining their schedule of releasing new gods every two weeks.

Former CEO Stew Chisam also shared his thoughts on LinkedIn, acknowledging the industry's recent challenges. He praised the remaining team and expressed confidence in their future success, despite the difficulties Hi-Rez has faced over recent years.

Travis Brown, who had worked at Hi-Rez for nearly two decades and was instrumental in Smite 2's vision, was also among those laid off. His departure marks the end of an era for the company.

This restructuring represents a shift in Hi-Rez's strategy from managing multiple games simultaneously to concentrating resources on a single major project. Earlier in 2025, the company had already moved Smite and Paladins into maintenance mode, ending active support for these titles.

Meanwhile, its current project, SMITE 2, launched in open beta on January 14, 2025, and is available on PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Steam Deck, with full cross-play and cross-progression support, allowing players to share progress and unlocks across platforms.

The layoffs reflect broader industry trends where gaming companies are downsizing to adapt to changing market conditions while trying to maintain their core development capabilities.