Epic Games laid off more than a thousand employees due to issues with Fortnite
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney announced a large-scale round of layoffs.
Fortnite
As Sweeney explained in a letter to employees, over the past couple of years, audience interest in Fortnite has declined, resulting in the company spending significantly more than it earns. To improve its financial position, Epic Games is forced to part with a substantial portion of its workforce.
"These layoffs, along with over $500 million in cost reductions through savings on contractors and marketing, and the closing of some open positions, will allow us to become more financially stable," Sweeney wrote.
Additionally, the executive stated that Epic Games has been affected by the crisis in the gaming industry. Sweeney emphasized that the layoffs are in no way related to the development of artificial intelligence technologies.
Epic Games promised severance pay to the laid-off employees, which will be no less than four months of their salary — and in some cases even more, depending on the specialists' tenure.
Let us recall, the last time Epic Games had a mass layoff was in the fall of 2023. At that time, it parted ways with 16% of its employees, or approximately 830 people.