Hi-Rez Shutters Projects To Ramp Up Productivity On Smite 2

Developer Hi-Rez Studios most notable for MOBA Smite continues to deliver more for the game. One of its notorious features was the crossover between the title and OldSchool Runescape last year. But with countless updates, the game studio is moving on to a new release. In January, the Smite firm revealed that Smite 2 is officially on the way bridging a new entry in the series.

Rectify Gaming was able to test the waters for the Smite 2 Pre-Alpha that took place this past August. “Smite 2’s Alpha is a very strong and promising start to what should be an amazing MOBA experience. I look forward to playing all the playtest weekends and being apart of the growing and ever changing landscape Hi-Rez is pushing to give us.”

In a new development spruced from Hi-Rez Studios, the team is shaping its focus solely on Smite 2 above its other projects. This week, it was revealed that the firm is now planning to sunset servers for its action brawler Divine Knockout next year.

It’s with a heavy heart from all of us at Red Beard Games that we have to inform you that as part of Hi-Rez’s recent re-org, DKO will be sunset and the servers shut down on February 17, 2025 12:00 PM EDT. Following this date the game will be removed from digital storefronts and you will no longer be able to purchase it and any related content such as DLC.

This is not the only example of Hi-Rez Studios limiting focus on its string of IPs. Around the same time, Hi-Rez Studios also confirmed that Realm Royale will also be facing the same fate by February 2025 as well. “We can not thank you enough for your support and passion over the last six years! From your first drops into the battlefield to every epic in Forge across the Realm, your dedication has made this journey unforgettable,” the team wrote.

Earlier in October, CEO Stuart Chisam addressed that effort to prioritize Smite 2 is the path forward at Hi-Rez Studios which will affect all other projects aside from updates towards Paladins & Smite 1. “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. […] 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.”

Are you surprised by this turn of events for Hi-Rez Studios as of late?