Epic Games Is Cutting 830 Jobs, Citing “Unrealistic” Metaverse Ambitions
CEO Tim Sweeney attributed the job cuts to structural changes in the company’s economy.
Epic Games (the company behind Fortnite) has cut 16% of its workforce, or about 830 employees, after spending “far more” than it earned due to unrealistic expectations of Metaverse-inspired revenue.
In a memo to Epic Games employees on September 29, CEO Tim Sweeney wrote: “We have concluded that layoffs were the only option and that they must occur now and at this scale. This will stabilize our financial situation.” of the company’s workforce. Those laid off will receive a 6-month severance package
Epic Games have laid off 870 employees today across multiple departments, a whopping 16% of their workforce. Those laid off will receive 6 months severance
"For awhile now, we've been spending way more money than we earn, investing in the next evolution of Epic and Fortnite" pic.twitter.com/4W6Pn31CU3
— Jake Lucky (@JakeSucky) September 28, 2023
While Sweeney credits the company’s recent growth to the Fortnite Creator program - which allows players to create their own in-game content at a 40% discount create and sell – the change has resulted in lower margins.
While the success of the creator ecosystem has been a major achievement, it has also represented a major shift in our economy.
In addition to the above 250 layoffs, Sweeney also said that another 250 employees will be leaving Epic Games as a company has announced that it will sell recently acquired music website Bandcamp and spin off SuperAwesome – a marketing company that was spun off from Epic in 2020.
Epic Games’ future former employees will receive six months’ salary and everyone living in the United States of America, Canada and Brazil will also receive six months of paid healthcare.
In addition to Fortnite (with 400 million registered users), Epic Games also operates the Unreal Engine. This video game development suite is behind titles like God of War, PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds and PlayerUnknown.
