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Epic Games Laying Off Over 1,000 Employees Due to Loss of Fortnite Engagement

cageymaru

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‘I’m sorry we’re here again’: Epic Games is laying off over 1,000 employees due to ‘Fortnite downturn’​

https://www.videogameschronicle.com...epic-games-is-laying-off-over-1000-employees/

“Today we’re laying off over 1000 Epic employees,” Tuesday’s note reads. “I’m sorry we’re here again. The downturn in Fortnite engagement that started in 2025 means we’re spending significantly more than we’re making, and we have to make major cuts to keep the company funded.

“This layoff, together with over $500 million of identified cost savings in contracting, marketing, and closing some open roles puts us in a more stable place.”

Staff impacted by layoffs will get a severance package “that includes at least four months of base pay, with more based on tenure,” Sweeney said.
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According to Mat Piscatella, Fortnite is still one of the most played games on console; just not as much time and money spent on it as before.

Last month Epic released a Year in Review retrospective which stated that “while overall gameplay hours declined year over year, hours in third-party titles increased by 4%”, implying that Fortnite’s numbers had dropped.

Earlier this month, the company also announced that it was increasing the price of V-Bucks in Fortnite, saying: “The cost of running Fortnite has gone up a lot and we’re raising prices to help pay the bills.”

As part of its Year in Review, Epic also announced that PC players spent $1.16 billion on the Epic Games Store last year, while Statista estimates that Epic Games generated $6.21 billion in gross revenue last year overall.
 
Next stop, Epic taking a higher percentage cut from 3rd party sales in the Epic store.
 
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Big * on what kids do with their time instead (if it is tiktok or some other adictive video game...) and loosing jobs can always be a bit dramatic, but part of me goes into the not necessarily a bad thing if fornite engagement goes down a bit.
 
bigdogchris said:
Huh, Epic adds 1,000 employees worth of content to Fortnite every year?
Click to expand...

They actually add so many skins and content that it causes problems for other games. People complain they only get 1 new character a month in some other game and yell at the devs because they should be able to churn out 30 like Fortnite does.
 
Not buying it's because of user count. It's not down that significantly to warrant that amount in reductions. Here's the trend data.
1774377659638.png
 
kac77 said:
Not buying it's because of user count. It's not down that significantly to warrant that amount in reductions. Here's the trend data.
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They specifically said user count has not changed, but playtime and spending is down.
 
Classic case of over expansion. Epic expanded a bit too much. They do some good things but seemed like for a few years they were buying and expanding a whole lot and things started to suffer. Newer UE5 builds seem to be better and I hope they start to refocus on engine development. Make it perform better, and clean up other issues. If all that Fortnite money results in lethargic improvements maybe it wasn't good for them. With Fortnite winding down a bit it seems like Epic has started working more with making UE5 run better.

M76 said:
They specifically said user count has not changed, but playtime and spending is down.
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Yes, and that is how they make money. No real surprise here, Fortnite could not last forever. But if they trim off some fat and go back to their core engine development business that will be good.
 
Flogger23m said:
But if they trim off some fat and go back to their core engine development business that will be good.
Click to expand...
UE development never stopped, its direction might be questionable sometimes but that's not the issue. The entire AAA industry is struggling. And if games don't make money, then UE doesn't make money given that licensing is based on revenue share and not upfront payment.
 
kac77 said:
Not buying it's because of user count. It's not down that significantly to warrant that amount in reductions. Here's the trend data.
View attachment 793399
Click to expand...
By engagement they mean people burning money. Games age and the players end up mostly having what they want. Do you buy your 100th skin? Or just use one you have. People playing but fewer spending constantly.
 
Shoganai said:
When you rest your entire company on the success of one game this is what happens.
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I think this is why they started giving away so many games to build their own store like valve did. They did try to diversify, off the work of others. Lol
 
Can't even fathom why that many people are assigned to a game that is already done. Sure there's overhead due to keeping servers running smoothly, and sure some cosmetic upgrade type things but 1000 laid off?
 
SticKx911 said:
I think this is why they started giving away so many games to build their own store like valve did. They did try to diversify, off the work of others. Lol
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They wanted numbers, i.e. number of people signed up for their service so they could lure companies to sell products off their service
 
M76 said:
UE development never stopped, its direction might be questionable sometimes but that's not the issue. The entire AAA industry is struggling. And if games don't make money, then UE doesn't make money given that licensing is based on revenue share and not upfront payment.
Click to expand...

They actually shifted people off UE to Fortnite specific tasks when Fortnite first blew up and it was almost everyone working on Fortnite specific stuff. But as things stabilized they went back and there is a lot of crossover with UEFN and plain UE so UE got a lot more investment than it would have in the long run.
 
I wonder if it was the adult daycare jobs that have been cut or content developers that have been cut. I suppose probably a combination of the two and AI will be used to fill the void of the skin makers they trimmed.
 
El_Capitan said:
Imagine making $42 Billion off of one game, and you end up laying off people. We need these executives running the government.
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I will also say, after this many years, the core of the game is likely fairly stable, all they ever add is new skins anyways, how hard is that. The fundamentals haven't change much...and people are probably just tried of spending money on more skins, that no one else really gives a crap about...along with tougher financial times for people, mommy wont' give little jimmy the credit card anymore to buy more useless items :D
 
M76 said:
UE development never stopped, its direction might be questionable sometimes but that's not the issue. The entire AAA industry is struggling. And if games don't make money, then UE doesn't make money given that licensing is based on revenue share and not upfront payment.
Click to expand...

To clarify I never said they stopped. I just said they lacked focus on fixing core issues like stuttering and performance issues. Would not surprise me one bit if they started mismanaging people and the engine development suffered. Starting last year they finally started making some good improvements in performance and taking the stuttering issues more seriously. Seems like they realize once the Fortnite money dries up UE will be their main source of revenue again and they're taking optimization more seriously. If that is the case, maybe less Fortnite money and a leaner Epic may be better for gamers.
 
LukeTbk said:
Big * on what kids do with their time instead (if it is tiktok or some other adictive video game...) and loosing jobs can always be a bit dramatic, but part of me goes into the not necessarily a bad thing if fornite engagement goes down a bit.
Click to expand...

* roblox

The gamimg industry is a monkey's paw if I ever saw one.
 
I never played Fortnite but played everything else. Ninja seems to be the most famous streamer to come out of the game.
 
Valve veteran slams Tim Sweeney and Epic Games for laying off 1000 people while making 'as much money as possible'

Former Valve writer Chet Faliszek, who left the company in 2017 and whose credits include the Half-Life 2 episodes, Portal, Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, has taken aim at Epic over the latest round of swingeing layoffs imposed by the company

"Can someone explain this to me," begins Faliszek on TikTok. "Why anybody who works at Epic should work hard? Cause Epic just laid off 1,000 people. And it's gonna shut down Fortnite Rocket Racing, Ballistic and Festival Battle stage, whatever that is. Who knows?

"It's not like they're a publicly traded company. It's not like there's some need to hit the stock market thing. This is Tim Sweeney. This is Tim. A thousand people is more than [the number] who work at Valve"...

https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-indu...le-and-hey-tim-gabes-better-at-that-than-you/
 
Epic Layoffs Hit Employee Battling Terminal Brain Cancer
https://insider-gaming.com/epic-layoffs-employee-battling-terminal-brain-cancer/

Jenni Griffin revealed that her husband, programmer writer Michael (Mike) Prinke, was one of the many people to lose their jobs.

Prinke, as Griffin writes, is battling terminal brain cancer. As an Epic Games employee, he received life insurance as a benefit. Now that he’s lost his job, that benefit goes away. And, because his cancer is viewed as a “pre-existing condition” by insurance companies, he’s not eligible to gain new coverage.

It’s important to note that employees who’ve lost their jobs retain company-provided health insurance for six months. Life insurance, on the other hand, appears to be ending immediately.


Cruelty. Insanity. Indifference for the human condition. Heartless.

As much as I admire people in this industry, Tim really needs to rethink this decision and fix issues like this. I understand layoffs and the need to make and retain profits. Don't hurt the people like this though. I'll assume this was an oversight.
 
cageymaru said:
Epic Layoffs Hit Employee Battling Terminal Brain Cancer
https://insider-gaming.com/epic-layoffs-employee-battling-terminal-brain-cancer/

Jenni Griffin revealed that her husband, programmer writer Michael (Mike) Prinke, was one of the many people to lose their jobs.

Prinke, as Griffin writes, is battling terminal brain cancer. As an Epic Games employee, he received life insurance as a benefit. Now that he’s lost his job, that benefit goes away. And, because his cancer is viewed as a “pre-existing condition” by insurance companies, he’s not eligible to gain new coverage.

It’s important to note that employees who’ve lost their jobs retain company-provided health insurance for six months. Life insurance, on the other hand, appears to be ending immediately.


Cruelty. Insanity. Indifference for the human condition. Heartless.

As much as I admire people in this industry, Tim really needs to rethink this decision and fix issues like this. I understand layoffs and the need to make and retain profits. Don't hurt the people like this though. I'll assume this was an oversight.
Click to expand...
If I needed a final reason to never buy from Epic ever again ... it would be this. Good riddance. I hope he gets help.
 
Shoganai said:
If I needed a final reason to never buy from Epic ever again ... it would be this. Good riddance. I hope he gets help.
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Terminal brain cancer, ain't no help for that, at most there is comfort.

That said the whole life insurance thing seems a bit overblown, they only get it if they die while working there? How much would it be at most? Something to help with funeral arrangements maybe
 
sfsuphysics said:
Terminal brain cancer, ain't no help for that, at most there is comfort.
Click to expand...
That is literally not the point. HIs family shouldn't have to foot the bills from this. Clearly the end is not good, but the man is doing all he can for his family before he can't ... ever again. And by help I meant financially. Or maybe I just shouldn't respond to messages anymore that lack any sort of empathy. Good grief.
 
Mike should be thinking of Tim's need to buy more land for tax write off purposes. /s

Epic CEO and billionaire Tim Sweeney has been using some of his cash to buy up 50,000 acres of forest so it can't be flattened

Then asking Grok "could Tim Sweeney of Epic Games buying of large amounts of land and then giving it away be considered a tax write off".
Yes — this is a perfectly legal and common tax-efficient strategy used by many high-net-worth individuals and companies for conservation. Sweeney is essentially combining philanthropy with tax planning: he buys land (often during downturns when prices are lower), holds it, then donates it at FMV for a deduction while permanently protecting it from development. It is not a loophole or scam — it's explicitly encouraged by the IRS under IRC Section 170 for gifts of appreciated property. The same rules apply to donating stock, art, or other appreciated assets.
Click to expand...
 
cageymaru said:
Epic Layoffs Hit Employee Battling Terminal Brain Cancer
https://insider-gaming.com/epic-layoffs-employee-battling-terminal-brain-cancer/

Jenni Griffin revealed that her husband, programmer writer Michael (Mike) Prinke, was one of the many people to lose their jobs.

Prinke, as Griffin writes, is battling terminal brain cancer. As an Epic Games employee, he received life insurance as a benefit. Now that he’s lost his job, that benefit goes away. And, because his cancer is viewed as a “pre-existing condition” by insurance companies, he’s not eligible to gain new coverage.

It’s important to note that employees who’ve lost their jobs retain company-provided health insurance for six months. Life insurance, on the other hand, appears to be ending immediately.


Cruelty. Insanity. Indifference for the human condition. Heartless.

As much as I admire people in this industry, Tim really needs to rethink this decision and fix issues like this. I understand layoffs and the need to make and retain profits. Don't hurt the people like this though. I'll assume this was an oversight.
Click to expand...

sfsuphysics said:
Terminal brain cancer, ain't no help for that, at most there is comfort.

That said the whole life insurance thing seems a bit overblown, they only get it if they die while working there? How much would it be at most? Something to help with funeral arrangements maybe
Click to expand...
Shoganai said:
That is literally not the point. HIs family shouldn't have to foot the bills from this. Clearly the end is not good, but the man is doing all he can for his family before he can't ... ever again. And by help I meant financially. Or maybe I just shouldn't respond to messages anymore that lack any sort of empathy. Good grief.
Click to expand...

It doesn't just immediately vanish into nothingness suddenly, you typically will have a mechanism to continue it.

They need to get the plan converted. The pre-existing scenario is basically what conversion is for - porting will probably not work since it'd be considered a new policy. The same plan they had will just become an individual policy for them.

You basically have a month to do this.
 
Feels like this is less about Fortnite “dying” and more about expectations finally catching up with reality. The thread tone says it all — people are tired of hearing “engagement” as an excuse while companies still pull in billions . Cutting 1000 jobs after years of massive revenue just shows how fragile that model is. Found a solid breakdown in gaming industry layoffs analysis
 
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