A farewell to Hi-Rez Studios

This isn’t at all what I imagined my first Twitlonger would be about, but I can’t condense what’s in my heart into 140 characters so what better place than a good ‘ol Twitlonger, the official sponsor for all esports-related news, to give you all an update. Today, August 29th will mark my last day at Hi-Rez Studios. This company has given me an amazing opportunity and I am forever grateful for everything, and everyone I’ve gotten the chance to meet over the past 3+ years.



Back in 2014, I was living up in Connecticut working as a door to door vacuum salesman (yes they do still exist) and around February a good friend of mine contacted me stating he may be able to get my foot in the door of a gaming company if I was interested. I was going through a rough time so I took the chance and in March 2014 I was working as a volunteer at my first esports event - the SMITE Launch Tournament. I was dumbfounded by the energy around me that weekend so I kept my head down and worked hard.



A few months later Hi-Rez took its first chance on me and offered me a job as an Esports Administrator. As a fresh body in the scene there was so much to absorb and I can’t thank everyone enough for the support and guidance you showed me; those first couple years have been invaluable to my career.



A year ago, Hi-Rez took it’s second chance on me and promoted me to manage the league ops side of the things in conjunction with Adanas managing the talent side. A few months later I was promoted again to lead the entire esports department. The shoes I had to fill were big and my managers did an excellent job supporting me in this new role.



I wasn’t perfect, and I’ve learned a lot of extremely valuable lessons - some harder than others - and I know I still have a lot to learn. The changes that we’re making in the SMITE scene I feel very confidently about and I know the results will be positive. The Paladins scene is still in it’s early days but there is some cool shit that’s coming up and I know that scene will explode too. We work tirelessly to give players and fans the scene they deserve and I expect that to continue long after my departure.



A special thanks to my team: Your commitments have been irreplaceable and you should all be proud of not only the things we’ve done, but where things are headed. You are all extremely talented and I’m excited to see things continue down that positive path from the sidelines.



A shout out all of the pros I’ve had the chance to work with in both the SMITE and Paladins scenes - I’ve come a long way from the LAN van and getting the chance to travel the world together and create the competitive scenes we have has been a truly amazing ride. I wish each of you all of the best both in and out of competition.



To the community - you. are. AMAZING! Together we’ve done some pretty incredible things, things that we can be proud of. Hi-Rez knows they have something special with their fans and I’m thankful to have been a part of it.



And last, but certainly not least: to Stew, Todd, Nabil, and Andy - Thank you for every opportunity you’ve given me. Without you guys I wouldn’t be where I am today, done the things I’ve done, or gotten the chance to be a part of this blooming industry. You guys are some of the most intelligent, hard-working individuals I’ve had the pleasure to work with and I strive for the level of professionalism you’ve shown me.



I’ll be announcing details on my new ventures soon but for now, I want you to know how much all of this has meant to me. Thank you for being a part of my journey.



Much love,

-Dan



Reply · Report Post