In a news post simply titled “Today’s layoffs” (they’d already used “Layoffs at Epic” the last time this happened), Epic Games has revealed that it’s letting go of over 1,000 more employees today.
The company’s CEO, Tim Sweeney, writes in the public post that this latest round of firings is due to a “downturn in Fortnite engagement” that began last year in 2025 and has seen the company spend more cash than it’s bringing in. So, along with another $500 million in spending cuts on things like marketing, contracting and further hiring, it’s seemingly hoping that removing any sense of stability from under the feet of 1,000 of its workers will put the rest of Epic “in a more stable place.”
Sweeney claims that while some of Epic’s challenges are shared by the wider industry – slower growth, a tougher economic situation, more competition for screentime than ever with other forms of media – others are unique to Epic and the challenge of maintaining and growing its Fortnite platform. It seemed like things were maybe headed in the “right” direction, the game just made its way back to the Google Play Store this past week, in fact, and Epic even recently tightened its V-Bucks purse strings, but I guess that progress hasn’t come fast enough.
It’s also noted in the press release that these layoffs are not related to AI.
It’s… worth checking out the full post here, if only to read Sweeney call his company “the industry’s vanguard” in the very same breath as “we’re doing a mass layoff again.”
Those affected by the cuts will reportedly receive a severance package that includes at minimum four months of base pay, an extension on healthcare coverage and stock benefits. A company meeting is happening on Thursday to put a roadmap in place for the future.
Update: It has also been announced separately that Fortnite is losing three key modes, with Rocket Racing, Ballistic and Festival Battle Stage being taken offline this year.