Epic Games lays off more than a thousand workers

March 25, 2026 - 15:59

In a sweeping move that has sent shockwaves through the gaming industry, Epic Games has laid off approximately 830 employees, constituting roughly 16% of its total workforce. The company's founder and CEO, Tim Sweeney, communicated the difficult decision directly to staff in a company-wide memo, citing urgent financial realities as the primary driver.

Sweeney explained that for some time, Epic has been spending significantly more money than it earns. This unsustainable trajectory was largely fueled by ambitious investments in the future of the company's ecosystem. However, a critical factor forcing immediate action is the underperformance of the flagship title, Fortnite. The game's immense growth phase has slowed, and its current revenue, while substantial, is now overshadowed by the larger metaverse-related costs it was intended to support.

The CEO stated that cost-cutting measures, including a freeze on hiring and reductions in marketing spend, were attempted but proved insufficient to achieve long-term stability. Sweeney described the layoffs as the only viable path forward, acknowledging the profound human impact of the decision. Affected employees are being offered severance packages, and the company is divesting recently acquired music platform Bandcamp while spinning off most of its marketing firm, SuperAwesome. This restructuring marks a pivotal and challenging moment for the creator of one of the world's most influential games.