Hi-Rez Restructures Upper Management As It Spins Off Skillshot Media Into A Separate Company

Well, here's a bit of news I wasn't really expecting. It's not bad, but it is definitely a thing. Today, Hi-Rez Studios announced that its subsidiary esports and live media team would be spinning off to become its own company with Hi-Rez COO Todd Harris as the CEO and Founder. The reasoning behind this is that it seems that housing both esports for Hi-Rez games as well as that of other companies under one roof, while successful, created a problem for the company wherein it was becoming difficult to manage both.

As part of their plan to ensure both Hi-Rez esports and the "agnostic esports service" business thrive, Hi-Rez has decided to pull management of esports and media for its own games back under the primary umbrella and spin-off Skillshot as a separate company with Todd Harris at the helm.

This move shouldn't impact anything directly related to the players, but it does mean a shift in upper management as Harris relinquishes his role as COO of Hi-Rez. As expected, someone must take his place, and that someone will be Chris Larson who most players know from his work on both Smite and Paladins.

Another change is that Hi-Rez's VP of Operations and Technology Nabil Ismail will be stepping down as he takes up the role of COO at Skillshot.

Of course, Todd Harris, being Todd Harris had to add his own comments on the announcement -- in the form of a really silly flashback video.

So long, and thanks for all the fish.

But sincerely, all the feels today.

Words can never express what the @HiRezStudios employee & player community means to me.

...But @HiRezAndy can. So I'll leave you with this pic.twitter.com/HWXu6E2tcP

— Todd Harris @ Skillshot (@ToddAlanHarris) October 11, 2019