Epic Games to Lay Off About 1,000 Employees as Fortnite Engagement and Gaming Market Weaken

📌 Key Facts

Epic’s internal memo says the company is laying off exactly 1,000 employees, leaving it with about 4,000 workers — roughly a 20% reduction.
The layoffs are being linked to a slowdown in Fortnite engagement and a weakening gaming market.
CEO Tim Sweeney explicitly said the cuts are not related to artificial intelligence.
Sweeney cited slower growth, weaker consumer spending, tougher cost economics, and competition from social media and other online entertainment as drivers of the layoffs.
Epic says it is only in the early stages of returning to mobile platforms after its court battles with Apple and Google over app-store payments, which it frames as a company-specific hurdle alongside the broader industry headwinds.

@paigedugre, a laid-off associate producer at Fortnite, highlights her contributions to culturally significant maps and collaborations like The Simpsons and Doja Cat, underscoring the human impact of Epic's cuts.
@Grummz describes the layoffs as insane, attributing Epic's unprofitability to a sharp decline in Fortnite users and broader issues like weaker microtransaction spending and competition from other apps.
@MrDeezo criticizes Epic for shifting away from Fortnite's core fun elements toward gimmicks, which he believes has led to player exodus and the current financial pressures necessitating layoffs.
@BRKsKaito notes that despite Epic's claim that the layoffs are unrelated to AI, the remaining workforce will likely rely on AI tools to produce more with fewer resources amid the Fortnite slump.
@TheLucasToday points out the irony in Epic laying off creators of maps and collabs that maintained Fortnite's cultural relevance, calling it emblematic of the gaming industry's pattern of record revenues alongside massive job cuts.

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March 24, 2026

10:32 PM

PBS News by Barbara Ortutay, Associated Press

New information:

Epic’s internal memo specifies that exactly 1,000 employees are being laid off, leaving the company with about 4,000 workers, roughly 20% fewer than before the cuts.
CEO Tim Sweeney explicitly states the layoffs are not related to artificial intelligence, instead citing slower growth, weaker spending, tougher cost economics and competition from social media and other online entertainment.
Epic notes it is only in the early stages of returning to mobile platforms after its court fights with Apple and Google over app store payments, framing that as a company-specific hurdle alongside industry headwinds.

4:58 PM

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