Epic Video games Laying Off 1,000+ Staff, Swears AI Is To not Blame

Regardless of the large recognition of Fortnite, Epic Video games says it’s now spending more cash than it’s bringing in.

In consequence, the corporate introduced Tuesday that it’s shedding greater than 1,000 staff, based on a note despatched to employees and revealed on-line by founder and CEO Tim Sweeney. Epic additionally recognized greater than $500 million in value financial savings throughout contracting, advertising, and unfilled roles that it says will put the corporate in a extra “secure place.”

Within the notice, Sweeney factors to a slowdown in Fortnite engagement that started in 2025, together with broader trade challenges as culprits for the layoffs. These challenges embrace slower development, weaker shopper spending, more durable economics, and elevated competitors from different types of leisure. He additionally notes that present sport console gross sales are trailing the earlier technology.

Sweeney suggests Epic’s long-running authorized battles with Apple and Google over cellular app retailer insurance policies have additionally taken a toll. Fortnite was faraway from each corporations’ cellular app shops for a number of years after Epic launched its personal third-party cost system. The sport returned to Apple’s App Store in 2025 and to the Google Play Store earlier this month.

Sweeney wrote within the notice the corporate remains to be “solely within the early levels of returning to cellular.” He added, that the corporate has “taken a number of bullets in a battle which is just within the early days of paying off for ourselves and all builders.”

One factor Sweeney doesn’t blame is AI.

“Because it’s a factor now, I ought to notice that the layoffs aren’t associated to AI,” Sweeney wrote. “To the extent it improves productiveness, we wish to have as many superior builders growing nice content material and tech as we will.”

That stance contrasts with different tech corporations which can be pouring billions into AI whereas slicing employees and aiming to function with smaller, extra “agile” groups. Amazon, Vimeo, Pinterest, and Block have all introduced layoffs earlier this yr. Block CEO Jack Dorsey has even gone so far as suggesting that AI is able to changing a major share of his firm’s workforce.

Trying forward, Sweeney stated Epic plans to give attention to constructing “superior Fortnite experiences construct superior Fortnite experiences with contemporary seasonal content material, gameplay, story, and dwell occasions.”

Fortnite, which began as a battle royale sport, has developed right into a broader social platform that some have described as a real metaverse, with user-generated content material, brand tie-ins, and dwell occasions like concerts.

However at the same time as Epic is refocusing its efforts to enhance Fortnite, it’s scaling again some features of the sport.

In a post on X, the corporate stated it’s shutting down a number of Fortnite modes, together with Rocket Racing, Ballistic, and Pageant Battle Stage. The transfer comes as Meta has gone back and forth on whether or not to close down its digital actuality social platform Horizon Worlds.

“We’ve constructed a number of Fortnite modes, and in some circumstances we didn’t construct one thing superior sufficient to draw and retain a big participant base,” the put up reads.