Redundancies have stormed the Fortnite maker Epic Games once again, resulting in the loss of 1,000 jobs.
Tim Sweeney, Chief Executive Officer of Epic Games, confirmed the layoffs, citing a decline in player numbers and broader cost pressures.
“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,” Sweeney said.
Fortnite under pressure
The cuts follow a reduction of more than 800 roles in 2023, highlighting continued challenges across the business.
Once one of the most popular battle royale games, Sweeney pointed to a mix of industry-wide pressures, including increased competition and reduced consumer spending, but also acknowledged issues specific to Fortnite.
“Despite Fortnite remaining one of the most successful games in the world, we’ve had challenges delivering consistent Fortnite magic with every season,” he said.
Tim Sweeney added that the company is still in the early stages of returning to mobile and optimising the game for a global smartphone audience
He added that the company is still in the early stages of returning to mobile and optimising the game for a global smartphone audience.
“We’re only in the early stages of returning to mobile and optimizing Fortnite for the world’s billions of smartphones; and in being the industry’s vanguard we have taken a lot of bullets in a battle which is only in the early days of paying off for ourselves and all developers,” he explained.
Not an AI-driven move
Sweeney clarified that the layoffs are not related to artificial intelligence, with affected employees receiving severance packages including four months’ pay and, for US-based staff, six months of healthcare.
There were earlier signs of pressure when Epic raised the price of V-Bucks, Fortnite’s in-game currency, to pay the operational bills.
At the same time, the company confirmed it will wind down several game modes, including Rocket Racing, Ballistic and the Fortnite Festival “battle stage”, while keeping its core Festival experience online.
Industry-wide shakeout
Epic’s cuts reflect a broader shakeout across the live-service gaming sector, which has seen a wave of layoffs and shutdowns in recent weeks.
Free-to-play shooter Highguard has been shut down, EA has cut developers on Battlefield 6, Riot Games has reduced staff on its upcoming fighter 2XKO, and Remedy has ended updates for its team shooter FBC: Firebreak.
“Market conditions today are the most extreme we’ve seen since our early days,” Sweeney said.
“That’s what we’re aiming to do for our players, and we aim to bring other like-minded developers along on the journey to build an increasingly open and vibrant future of entertainment together.”
Top Image: Fortnite