Epic Games Lays Off 16% of Employees

Epic Games, Inc., the creators of Fortnite, Fall Guys and Unreal Engine had some very sad news to share today. Epic just announced that they’re laying off 16% of their employees, roughly 830 people.

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney had written an email for his employees today. In it he states that “...we've been spending way more money than we earn, investing in the next evolution of Epic and growing Fortnite as a metaverse-inspired ecosystem for creators.”. He also stated a desire to lower spending while retaining key parts of business and development.

"...About two-thirds of the layoffs were in teams outside of core development. Some of our products and initiatives will land on schedule, and some may not ship when planned because they are under-resourced for the time being. We’re ok with the schedule tradeoff if it means holding on to our ability to achieve our goals, get to the other side of profitability and become a leading metaverse company.”

Additionally, Epic has made two divestitures. Firstly, they’ve announced that the music platform Bandcamp has been sold to SongTradr. This comes merely a year after Epic’s acquisition of Bandcamp last year. Secondly, the youth marketing company SuperAwesome has been largely spun off. The management team announced they’re acquiring most of the company from Epic Games. However, the Kids Web Service the company is known for will remain with Epic.

These developments aren’t the only economic woes we’ve heard from Epic either. Both Fortnite and Fall Guys have announced rising prices for their digital currencies, coming October 27th, 2023. For example, both the 1000 V-Bucks and 1000 Show-Bucks bundles will rise from $7.99 to $8.99 USD.

If you’re interested in reading the full email and company statement, you can do so here: https://www.epicgames.com/site/en-US/news/layoffs-at-epic

Author’s Note: Man, this really sucks to hear about. It's awful whenever somebody gets laid off, let alone when it happens to hundreds of people. I hope everyone who lost their job today will be able to acquire a new one soon.

Credits:
Writing & Editing: Zerp
Thumbnail Graphic: Zerp
Social: Zerp

 

wow. my sympathies to everyone who lost their job

 

Now That is What I Call a Classic Epic Games L

 

I gather it's unlikely that anyone affected will be reading this but I really hope everyone who got laid off is able to at least maintain a decent level of financial security because that's an awful situation to have to be in

 

It just so happens this is around the time SAG-AFTRA is planning a voice actor strike… and Epic is one of the companies they plan to strike against… probably just a coincidence but still