An Alpharetta company that produces the highly popular online video game SMITE said Monday it plans to expand its headquarters and add 75 jobs in the coming months.
Hi-Rez Studios, whose titles include Paladins, Tribes: Ascend and Jetpack Fighter, plans to add web developers, software designers, digital artists and customer service and marketing positions, according to the state Department of Economic Development.
The expansion will include a new 9,000-square-foot office lease in Alpharetta.
“Our business growth requires exceptional talent both technical and artistic,” Todd Harris, Hi-Rez Studios chief operating officer, said in a news release. “Metro Atlanta continues to be a great source for programmers and digital artists with a much more affordable cost of living compared to alternate game development hubs like California.”
Hi-Rez has offices in the Atlanta area, China and the United Kingdom and employs about 275 people.
Hi-Rez is a major player in the world of eSports, and its gaming tournament for SMITE in 2015 drew more than 2 million streaming spectators online and more than 2,700 people in person at the Cobb Energy Centre, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported.
Chris Carr, Georgia’s commissioner of economic development and incoming attorney general, said Hi-Rez has “benefited from a pro-business digital entertainment scene and a skilled workforce that cannot be found anywhere else.”
“We are confident they will continue to grow and drive the worldwide eSports movement from Georgia,” Carr said in the release.
The SMITE game is reported to have more than 20 million registered players, and the Paladins game had more than 1 million downloads in the first 10 days of its launch last month, the release said.
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