Fortnite developer Epic Games is cutting over 1,000 jobs
Fortnite and Unreal Engine maker Epic Games is laying off over 1,000 employees.
In a note to workers penned by Epic boss Tim Sweeney (published on the Epic Games blog), the company said it must downsize to account for a decline in Fortnite engagement that began in 2025.
Sweeney said Epic is spending "significantly more" that is bringing in. He explained the company has also identified over $500 million in cost saving opportunities across contracting and marketing.
Some open roles will now also be closed to put the company in a more "stable place."
Epic is the parent company of notable development studios Harmonix and Mediatonic, the latter of which was reportedly decimated by layoffs in 2023. It also owns and operates Unreal Engine and the Epic Games Store digital PC marketplace.
The studio's most popular export by far is Fortnite, the battle royale shooter turned metaverse and UGC experience.
Sweeney acknowledged the free-to-play title remains "one of the most successful games in the world," but said it has struggled to deliver "magic" with every season. He also suggested the game's protracted absence from mobile platforms—the result of a legal battle between Epic, Apple, and Google—has taken its toll.
"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," wrote Sweeney.
"Since it's a thing now, I should note that the layoffs aren't related to AI. To the extent it improves productivity, we want to have as many awesome developers developing great content and tech as we can."
Sweeney said Epic will now strive to bolster Fortnite with fresh seasonal content, gameplay, story, and live events while accelerating developer tools with "greater stability and capability" as it works to pivot from Unreal Engine 5 and UEFN to Unreal Engine 6.
"This isn't our first time being here. Epic survived upheavals in 1990's with the move from 2D to 3D with Unreal 1; in the 2000's building console games with Gears of War; and in 2012 moving to online gaming with Paragon and Fortnite. Each time, we rebuilt our foundations and earned a renewed leadership position," he continued.
"Market conditions today are the most extreme we've seen since those early days, with massive upheaval in the industry accompanied by massive opportunity for the companies that come out as winners on the other side. That's what we're aiming to do for our players, and we aim to bring other like-minded developers in the industry along on the journey to build an increasingly open and vibrant future of entertainment together."
Those impacted by the layoffs will receive a severance package that includes at least four months of base pay, with more based on tenure. They will also receive extended Epic-paid healthcare coverage, accelerated stock options, and extended equity exercise options.
