Epic Games is laying off around 900 employees, according to an email sent to all employees by CEO Tim Sweeney that was shared on the company’s website today.
Reporter Jason Schreier originally reported the news with a post to social media shortly before publishing an article sharing that Epic was laying off about 16 percent of its workforce. Schreier cited a “person familiar with the matter.”
“This morning, rumors were flying as Epic disabled Slack for employees ahead of the news,” he said on Twitter. “Laid-off Epic employees will receive six months severance and health benefits. All-hands meeting happening shortly.”
Epic is a privately-owned gaming company most known by casual gamers for being the makers of the battle royale Fortnite. But the company is also responsible for the Unreal gaming engine that many developers use to create their games.
The report comes a day after the company filed a Writ of Certiorari requesting that the U.S. Supreme Court review another court’s ruling in the ongoing antitrust battle that Epic is having with Apple. This morning, Apple reportedly asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn an order that required changes to App Store rules because of a trial court decision in the antitrust case, according to a Reuters report.
The news also coincides with Epic’s announcement this week that Fortnite‘s V-Bucks currency will cost more real money starting on Oct. 27. Citing inflation, the company revealed many of its prices will go up around 12 to 15 percent.
Update Sept. 28 12:23pm CT: In an email to Epic Games employees, CEO Tim Sweeney confirmed the company is laying off “around 16% of Epic employees,” as well as “divesting Bandcamp and spinning off most of SuperAwesome.”
“For a while now, we’ve been spending way more money than we earn, investing in the next evolution of Epic and growing Fortnite as a metaverse-inspired ecosystem for creators,” he said. “I had long been optimistic that we could power through this transition without layoffs, but in retrospect I see that this was unrealistic.”
Sweeney noted that Fortnite is “starting to grow again.” But the growth is largely driven by creator content that has “significant revenue sharing,” making it a lower margin than what the game had when it originally exploded in popularity in 2018.
“Saying goodbye to people who have helped build Epic is a terrible experience for all,” he said.
Sweeney also confirmed the company is offering a substantial severance package to those being laid off, including six months of base pay and Epic-paid healthcare, among other things.
