Hi-Rez Studios lay off unknown number of workers to give Smite 2 "a sustainable future"

Who has "reprioritization" on their newspeak bingo card?

Smite 2 developers Hi-Rez Studios have laid off an unspecified number of workers, as part of what they call a "internal reorganization and reprioritization". The layoffs would ultimately benefit Smite 2, claimed the company's boss, who added that the cuts "disproportionally affect" those working on cosmetic skins and game "system features", as well as people in marketing and publishing roles.

"Today, we’re making 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," said CEO Stewart Chisham in a Xitter post yesterday.

"This move follows a comprehensive review of our strategy and operations. In the game division, we have decided to concentrate our efforts entirely on Smite 2, outside of small teams supporting light updates for Paladins and Smite 1.

"While these changes are difficult, we believe they are necessary and we will emerge stronger from them."

The executive called the measures a "heartbreaking decision" reflecting "a failure in my leadership, and one for which I take personal accountability." It's not clear whether he means the act of "reprioritization" has affected himself somehow, or whether these are simply the usual words of empty sympathy from management often spoken in such times.

Hi-Rez also had a round of layoffs last year, with 30 people losing their jobs as part of a larger restructuring that saw the company's uberstructure split into several different chunks, all overseen by a new corporate entity known as Hi-Rez Ventures.

As for the studio's focus shifting heavily towards Smite 2, that's sort of expected, and likely would have happened whether or not people lost their jobs. The game itself is grand enough, as MOBAs go, at least according to Matt Cox when he wrote our Smite 2 early access review. Although he did mention Deadlock as an obvious and superior competitor, calling it "Valve’s third-person elephant in the lane".

The layoffs, meanwhile, happen amid a wider trend of "restructuring" and "rationalizing" and "aligning" and "sunsetting" and "integrating". If this keeps up, the games industry may soon run out of hollow synonyms for cutting jobs.