The Georgia Department of Economic Development today announced that Hi-Rez Studios, the Georgia-based developer of online games, will expand, creating 50 jobs at its headquarters in Alpharetta.

 “Georgia has become a hotbed for the digital entertainment industry,” said GDEcD Commissioner Chris Carr. “With a solid network of companies, a highly mobile start-up community and top talent from our universities and technical colleges, we hope to see forward-thinking gaming companies such as Hi-Rez find success and expand here.”

Hi-Rez is leasing an additional 22,000 square feet in Alpharetta to expand its current headquarters and add 50 jobs in 2015.  The expansion will extend the Hi-Rez Studios campus beyond the current 3750 Brookside Parkway location to include space at 4300 Alexander Drive for a new e-sports production studio as well as additional development capacity.  

The new e-sports studio will support the production and internet broadcast of competitive tournaments for online games beginning with the SMITE Pro League.  The facility will accommodate live studio audiences for key tournament events throughout the year.

The new jobs will include software developers, digital artists, game testers and marketing personnel. Hi-Rez intends to employ more than 200 people in total by the end of 2015.   

"We continue to find exceptional engineering and creative talent in metro Atlanta,” said Hi-Rez Studios Chief Operating Officer Todd Harris.  "Compared to alternate locations for game development like California, metro Atlanta provides a recruiting and business advantage primarily based on its affordable cost of living."

The company's most recent title is SMITE, a mythology themed online multiplayer game with more than 7 million registered players on the Windows PC platform and a summer launch planned for SMITE on Xbox One.  The expansion in Alpharetta will support the growth of SMITE into new markets as well as the development of new game titles.

Asante Bradford, project manager of digital entertainment at GDEcD, has supported the company with its growth, including this most recent expansion, on behalf of Georgia, along with Peter Tokar, economic development director at the City of Alpharetta and Brian P. McGowan, executive vice president and chief operating officer at the Metro Atlanta Chamber.

"We are excited to work with Hi-Rez Studios as they expand their presence in metro Atlanta. The gaming industry is a growth sector for high-quality technology jobs. Our universities will be strong assets as Hi-Rez looks for talented and creative people to fill open positions,” said Brian P. McGowan, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Metro Atlanta Chamber.

“Hi-Rez studios is a perfect example of the innovative high tech companies here in Alpharetta,” said Peter Tokar, economic development director for the City of Alpharetta. “This continuation of their expansion and job creation over the last year and a half is a testimony to their success in the video game industry with their globally acclaimed game SMITE.  We look forward to their continued growth and are proud they choose to locate in the City of Alpharetta.”