Epic Games is shedding 1,000 employees on Tuesday, in keeping with an organization memo that was posted on Epic’s blog.
“The downturn in Fortnite engagement that began in 2025 means we’re spending significantly greater than we’re making, and we now have to make major cuts to maintain the corporate funded,” Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney wrote within the memo. “This layoff, along with over $500 million of identified cost savings in contracting, marketing, and shutting some open roles puts us in a more stable place.”
Last week, Epic also increased the value of V-Bucks, the Fortnite in-game currency, saying that “the associated fee of running Fortnite has gone up so much.”
Sweeney said that the layoffs weren’t attributable to AI making developers’ jobs redundant. Not directly, though, the corporate could also be facing AI-related headwinds, because the RAM shortage and demand for chips have had ripple effects across the industry, and have also impacted consumer spending.
Laid-off employees will get 4 months of severance pay, with more for individuals with longer tenures. Epic will proceed paying for the healthcare of U.S. employees for six months after the layoff.