Epic Games lays off 1,000 people

Hey, remember on Friday when I wrote about layoffs at Red Storm and Crystal Dynamics? Well, we're back again.

Today, Epic Games (also based in North Carolina) has announced that it's laying off 1,000 people. The official statement from Tim Sweeney says that, "we're spending significantly more than we're making, and we have to make major cuts to keep the company funded. 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."

Epic's announcement cites a lot of industry-wide reasons for their decision: "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."

For their own particular challenges, they say, "we’ve had challenges delivering consistent Fortnite magic with every season" and had experienced a "downturn in Fortnite engagement that started in 2025." Tim adds, "What we now need to do is clear: build awesome Fortnite experiences with fresh seasonal content, gameplay, story, and live events."

These layoffs come a week after Epic instituted a price increase on V-Bucks, the in-game currency for Fortnite and other games. Technically, it's more of a shrinkflation policy with the same prices getting you fewer V-Bucks.

The 1,000 people who lost their jobs today account for roughly 25% of Epic's workforce, based on estimates. You're never going to believe this, but the C-suite seems unaffected by the layoffs. Instead, it's artists, devs, and programmers who were fired, some of whom have been with the company for years.

(Hat tip to user mumbledtruth for the heads-up this morning.)