Epic is laying off more than 1,000 workers, citing a downturn in Fortnite engagement

Epic Games has announced sweeping layoffs of more than 1,000 employees. “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,” CEO Tim Sweeney said in a memo to workers on Tuesday. Sweeney wrote that, combined with “over $500 million of identified cost savings in contracting, marketing, and closing some open roles,” the layoffs will give Epic more stability. He added that the layoffs are not related to AI. Back in 2023, Epic laid off 830 employees. At the time, that was 16 percent of its workforce, suggesting around 4,000 employees remained at the company. If those numbers haven’t changed too much in the meantime, that means Epic is culling around a quarter of its headcount this week.Along with a dip in Fortnite engagement, Sweeney pointed out that Epic isn’t immune from systemic issues the games industry is contending with, such as a slowdown i