After record layoffs in 2023, when 830 people left their jobs, Epic Games has just announced another wave of layoffs. This time, the contracts of even more employees were terminated, over 1,000, and the cuts affected all departments. Also those responsible for actively creating and developing games, including one of the most popular games of this decade, Fortnite.
A game that has been constantly among the most frequently played productions since 2017, earning between $3 and $5 billion each year.has recently been recording increasingly weaker financial results. Although these amounts are still unattainable for most competitors, taking into account the costs of other operations and the downward trend, Epic Games decided to take drastic steps, explaining it with a disproportion between profits and costs.
Fortnite earns less and less
Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, wrote in a statement accompanying the layoff announcement sent to employees: “The decline in interest in Fortnite that began in 2025 has caused us to spend significantly more than we earn. To maintain the financing of the company, we must make radical cuts.
He also noted: – Current layoffs, combined with savings of over $500 million. found in the areas of external services, marketing and by not filling vacant positions, they will provide us with greater stability.
Another way to improve the company's financial condition has been recently price increases related to microtransactions in Fortnite. Virtual currency within the game, the so-called V-bucks, is several percent more expensive to purchase from March 19. The prices of the packages have not changed, but players simply receive less for the same money. The community's reaction was obviously very critical, and many people announced they would refrain from further spending or, in extreme cases, uninstall the game.
What's next for Unreal Engine?
Epic Games' recently growing expenses may be related to the other two branches of the company's operations. Yeah, it has earned over $40 billion over the last decade.of which Fortnite accounted for only half of the revenue. The rest is made up primarily of the Unreal Engine, one of the most popular technical solutions in the gaming industry that allows for the display of advanced graphics. Its latest iteration – Unreal Engine 5 – is the foundation on which CD Projekt RED builds The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2. And this is not the only large studio working with this technology.
The latest reports available on the matter indicated that Unreal Engine is the second most popular graphics engine on the market with a share of nearly 30%. . Currently, this proportion probably looks even more favorable for Epic Games, which makes the engine available to all developers free of charge. Only after they exceed a certain level of copies sold (the game must earn a minimum of $1 million), the contract obliges the creators to pay license fee of 5%. from further profits.
Another version of the engine, Unreal Engine 6 is also already being developedand Epic is planning big announcements related to its future at the end of this year. Version number 5 was revealed in 2020 and debuted two years later. Now we can expect a similar procedure.
In addition to the Unreal Engine, the Epic Games Store – a digital game distribution store that has been trying to compete with Valve's Steam platform – is also a major financial burden for the company. To attract new players, the company regularly gives away free games, often top-shelf ones, which also involves considerable expenses.
Epic Games employees surprised
Tim Sweeney also assured that the latest layoffs “are not related to AI.” Although it cannot be denied that the popularization of this technology has changed the way the industry operates, as the statement noted: “Today's market conditions are the most extremethat we have seen since our very beginnings. However, the enormous turmoil in the industry is accompanied by great opportunities for companies that will emerge victorious from this period.”
As part of the collective layoffs, all employees lost by Epic will receive compensation in the amount of four months' salary and coverage of health care costs on a six-month basis.
Some of those affected by the layoffs have already started to publicly comment on their situation on social media. Apart from the obvious bitterness, surprise prevails – among the team creating Fortnite many veterans who had been associated with the company for 10 or more years were also thanked. Evan Kinney, lead engineer at Epic Games, wrote: “I've done so much for this company and our games (…). Every time I get great midterm reviews, lots of people point out what a key role I play and what an impact I have on so many teams… and then they just fire me. I don't understand it.”
