Epic Games
Epic Games’ CEO blames Fortnite for the company’s massive layoffs of almost 1000 workers
It’s a dark time for the video game industry after Epic Games fired almost a thousand of its employees, around 16% of its entire workforce.
The same day they announced the rise in V-Bucks prices, the virtual currency of Fortnite, Epic Games has gotten rid of 16% of its workforce. Almost a thousand workers lost their jobs after these massive layoffs by the North American company.
Epic Games fires 16% of its workers: almost a thousand people lose their jobs
As reported by Bloomberg and Insider Gaming, on September 28, 2023, Epic Games made public a massive dismissal of 16% of its staff. About nine hundred workers were laid off throughout all the studios owned by the company, such as Psyonix (Rocket League) and Mediatonic (Fall Guys).
In a letter sent to the workers dismissed by Tim Sweeney, CEO and founder of the company, the executive said that one of the reasons for this decision is that they are “spending way more money than we earn.” One reason why they are spending so much has to do with Fortnite and its registration program, Support a Creator, which allows players to earn money with referral codes and by creating maps for the game’s Creative Mode.
Sweeney insists in the letter that “While Fortnite is starting to grow again, the growth is driven primarily by creator content with significant revenue sharing, and this is a lower margin business than we had when Fortnite Battle Royale took off and began funding our expansion.”
Workers whose jobs have been affected will get compensated with six months of their base salary, and residents of the United States, Canada, and Brazil will also get six months of medical insurance paid for by Epic Games. The company is also accelerating their stock option vesting schedule through the end of 2024, allowing for employees who took part in it to exercise their rights. In the US employees are being offered the vesting of any unearned profit sharing from their retirement funds, and other “career transition services” and visa support.