Fortnite maker lays off over 1,000 staff, citing engagement decline

The Fortnite craze might need reached its crescendo.

Epic Games introduced layoffs of 1,000 staff Tuesday, citing declining Fortnite engagement.

“We’ve had challenges delivering consistent Fortnite magic with every season,” CEO Tim Sweeney admitted in a memo to employees.

“Today we’re laying off over 1000 Epic employees,” the memo started. “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.”

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Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney introduced 1,000 layoffs, citing declining engagement from as soon as pervasive online game title Fortnite. (SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg)

Sweeney’s memo additionally famous broader weak spot within the video-game industry weighing on the corporate’s funds.

The cuts, together with greater than $500 million in financial savings from decrease contracting and advertising spending and unfilled roles, would put the corporate in “a more stable place,” in keeping with Sweeney.

The cuts are the most recent within the gaming sector, the place firms have confronted weaker development as customers have been sticking with confirmed titles amid financial uncertainty.

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But even these, particularly stay providers video games, which depend upon a gradual stream of recent content material to maintain gamers engaged, are actually exhibiting indicators of cracks.

“Market conditions today are probably the most excessive” because the early days of the corporate based in 1991, Sweeney wrote, including “the layoffs aren’t related to AI.”

The transfer marks Epic’s second major round of layoffs in three years. In September 2023, the corporate lower about 830 jobs, or roughly 16% of its workforce.

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Real property builders are using the identical know-how that created video video games like Fortnite to provide life-like excursions and increase gross sales previous to building. (Getty Images; Photo illustration)

The gaming sector has confronted mounting strain. In September, Electronic Arts laid off tons of of staff and canceled a Titanfall sport that was in improvement at its Respawn Entertainment unit, in keeping with media studies. Amazon’s broader job cuts late final 12 months additionally affected its gaming division.

“Some of the challenges we’re facing are industry-wide challenges: slower growth, weaker spending, and tougher cost economics; current consoles selling less than last generation’s; and games competing for time against other increasingly-engaging forms of entertainment,” Sweeney wrote. “And a few of our challenges are distinctive to Epic.

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“Despite Fortnite remaining one of the crucial profitable video games on this planet, we’ve had challenges delivering constant Fortnite magic with each season; we’re solely within the early levels of returning to cell and optimizing Fortnite for the world’s billions of smartphones; and in being the trade’s vanguard now we have taken quite a lot of bullets in a battle which is barely within the early days of paying off for ourselves and all builders.”

Laid-off workers at Epic Games will get “at the least 4 months base pay” and extended “Epic-paid healthcare protection,” in keeping with the memo.