Is Hi-Rez Studios profitable in 2026?

No public financials are disclosed. Hi-Rez has cut headcount from 450+ (2019) to roughly 75 employees by March 2025 across five layoff rounds since 2023, and its sole live product, SMITE 2, has seen Steam concurrent players fall about 70% from its January 2025 peak, suggesting a company in managed contraction rather than growth.

Has Hi-Rez Studios had layoffs recently?

Yes. Hi-Rez cut staff in June 2023 (~30 people), October 2024 (undisclosed), February 2025 (~69-70, leaving ~75 employees), and June 2025, when it laid off president Stewart Chisam and executive producer Travis Brown, citing 'too many senior managers' for its reduced size.

Is SMITE 2 losing players?

Yes. SMITE 2 peaked at roughly 21,481 concurrent Steam players in January 2025 but fell to a daily average of about 4,500 to 6,300 by mid-2026, per Steambase data from June 23, 2026, a decline of roughly 70% with Steam reviews sitting at Mixed, around 54-55% positive.

Who owns Hi-Rez Studios?

Hi-Rez is privately held. Founder Erez Goren self-funded the company with roughly $20 million in its early years and remains chairman as of a September 2020 AJC report. No confirmed external funding round or acquisition has been reported; Tencent has a 2013 China publishing deal for SMITE but no confirmed equity stake.

Could AI replace jobs at Hi-Rez Studios?

AI is more likely to erode adjacent roles than the core studio. Industry-wide, a 2026 GDC survey found 52% of studios use generative AI for asset creation, dialogue, and playtesting; Hi-Rez's own 2024-2025 layoffs concentrated in marketing, cosmetics, and publishing roles, functions AI tools can partially substitute, though no direct link was confirmed.

Who is Hi-Rez Studios' biggest competitor?

In MOBAs, Riot Games' League of Legends and Valve's Dota 2 dominate the genre SMITE 2 competes in. In hero shooters, NetEase's Marvel Rivals, launched December 2024 and peaking above 600,000 concurrent Steam players in January 2025, has drawn players away from the genre Hi-Rez's Paladins once occupied.

Gaming companies · United States

Hi-Rez Studios

hirezstudios.com ↗

Maker of SMITE and SMITE 2, a mythology-themed multiplayer battle arena game.

Little protection left

Assessed 23 July 2026 · Evidence as of 23 July 2026

Not much stands between this business and its pressures.

On the recordSince 23 July 2026 · Checkable from Q4 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: Next two to three quarterly Steam concurrent-player readings on SMITE 2

The call

Hi-Rez has shrunk to one live game and a fraction of its old staff, betting SMITE 2 can hold on to enough of SMITE's old audience to keep the company running.

Hi-Rez Studios builds and runs SMITE 2, a free-to-play action game played online. The company has cut 80 percent of its staff since 2023 and now focuses only on this one game, which has lost about 70 percent of its daily players since early 2025. Larger game makers like Tencent or Riot Games could copy the idea easily, and nothing stops them from taking SMITE 2's audience. The only thing that could save Hi-Rez is if SMITE 2 stops losing players and starts attracting them back over the next few seasons.

Why

AI pressure: None apparent. AI tools may speed up asset and code production, but no AI product is pulling players away from SMITE 2 directly. Could AI do the core job? Only partly.

Bigger players: Riot Games, Valve (Dota 2), and Tencent-backed MOBA/hero shooter titles. Bigger free-to-play studios with deeper pockets keep splitting the same pool of MOBA and hero-shooter players Hi-Rez needs. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.

What protects it. A 40 million-plus lifetime SMITE player base and founder Erez Goren's continued self-funding keep the lights on despite the shrinkage.

What would change this call

SMITE 2's daily average Steam concurrent players over the next 2-3 quarters. Whether the playerbase is stabilizing or continuing its decline toward abandonment.
Additional Hi-Rez layoffs or executive departures reported in gaming press. Whether contraction is continuing beyond the 2023-2025 cuts already disclosed.
Completion, sale, or shutdown of the RallyHere Interactive spin-off unit. Whether Hi-Rez can generate revenue outside its shrinking SMITE 2 player base.

Key numbers

Headcount fell from 450+ to ~75 since 2023 (2025-06)
SMITE 2 concurrent players down ~70% from Jan 2025 peak (2026-06-23)
SMITE 2 lifetime Steam owners est. 1.6-2.05 million (2026-07-17)

Named risks

SMITE 2 concurrent players down ~70% from Jan 2025 peak with only Mixed Steam reviews. Severity: high
Single remaining live product means no diversification if SMITE 2 decline continues. Severity: high
No disclosed external capital cushion to absorb further revenue decline. Severity: high
Continued executive and staff attrition following June 2025 leadership cuts. Severity: medium
SMITE 2 esports program already disrupted by Feb 2025 layoffs, further cuts possible. Severity: medium

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
Riot Games (League of Legends)	contesting	Dominant MOBA incumbent that never structurally blocked SMITE's niche but overshadows it, ongoing
Valve (Dota 2)	contesting	Long-standing MOBA incumbent alongside Riot, ongoing genre dominance
NetEase (Marvel Rivals)	losing to	Peaked 600,000+ concurrent players Jan 2025, drew ~45% of Overwatch 2 quitters, per Newzoo, Apr 2025
Blizzard (Overwatch 2)	losing to	Hi-Rez ended Paladins content development Feb 2025 as hero-shooter audience shifted elsewhere

Questions people ask

Is Hi-Rez Studios profitable in 2026?: No public financials are disclosed. Hi-Rez has cut headcount from 450+ (2019) to roughly 75 employees by March 2025 across five layoff rounds since 2023, and its sole live product, SMITE 2, has seen Steam concurrent players fall about 70% from its January 2025 peak, suggesting a company in managed contraction rather than growth.
Has Hi-Rez Studios had layoffs recently?: Yes. Hi-Rez cut staff in June 2023 (~30 people), October 2024 (undisclosed), February 2025 (~69-70, leaving ~75 employees), and June 2025, when it laid off president Stewart Chisam and executive producer Travis Brown, citing 'too many senior managers' for its reduced size.
Is SMITE 2 losing players?: Yes. SMITE 2 peaked at roughly 21,481 concurrent Steam players in January 2025 but fell to a daily average of about 4,500 to 6,300 by mid-2026, per Steambase data from June 23, 2026, a decline of roughly 70% with Steam reviews sitting at Mixed, around 54-55% positive.
Who owns Hi-Rez Studios?: Hi-Rez is privately held. Founder Erez Goren self-funded the company with roughly $20 million in its early years and remains chairman as of a September 2020 AJC report. No confirmed external funding round or acquisition has been reported; Tencent has a 2013 China publishing deal for SMITE but no confirmed equity stake.
Could AI replace jobs at Hi-Rez Studios?: AI is more likely to erode adjacent roles than the core studio. Industry-wide, a 2026 GDC survey found 52% of studios use generative AI for asset creation, dialogue, and playtesting; Hi-Rez's own 2024-2025 layoffs concentrated in marketing, cosmetics, and publishing roles, functions AI tools can partially substitute, though no direct link was confirmed.
Who is Hi-Rez Studios' biggest competitor?: In MOBAs, Riot Games' League of Legends and Valve's Dota 2 dominate the genre SMITE 2 competes in. In hero shooters, NetEase's Marvel Rivals, launched December 2024 and peaking above 600,000 concurrent Steam players in January 2025, has drawn players away from the genre Hi-Rez's Paladins once occupied.

Timeline

2026-06-23SMITE 2 daily average concurrent Steam players down to about 4,500-6,300, per Steambase
2025-06-02Hi-Rez lays off president Stewart Chisam, executive producer, and senior RallyHere managers
2025-02-17Divine Knockout and Realm Royale servers shut down
2025-02-12Hi-Rez ends major content development on SMITE, Paladins, and Rogue Company
2025-02-06WARN filing shows ~69-70 employees cut, leaving Hi-Rez with about 75 staff
2025-01-14SMITE 2 launches free-to-play open beta
2024-10-01Hi-Rez lays off undisclosed number of marketing/publishing staff
2024-08-27SMITE 2 enters closed alpha
2023-06-28Restructuring layoffs cut roughly 30 staff
2023-06-27Corporate entity renamed Hi-Rez Ventures, spinning out Titan Forge, Evil Mojo, RallyHere

Revision history

23 July 2026

First assessed. Little protection left. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

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