Fortnite is likely one of the most profitable video games on this planet, however that hasn’t stopped Epic Video games being affected by the tumultuous nature of the video games {industry}. Right this moment, the corporate has introduced that it is shedding over 1000 workers resulting from a downturn in engagement.
Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier initially broke the information (paywalled), Epic CEO Tim Sweeney shared a press release over on the corporate’s official web site. On high of 1,000 workers dropping their jobs, the corporate can even be making over $500 million value chopping financial savings.throughout advertising and marketing, contracting, and shutting open roles.
However plainly Fortnite and Epic have been hit by a “downturn in Fortnite engagement that began in 2025”. This comes simply two weeks after it introduced it could be elevating the value of V-Bucks to “assist pay the payments”.
“A few of the challenges we’re dealing with are industry-wide challenges: slower progress, weaker spending, and more durable value economics; present consoles promoting lower than final era’s; and video games competing for time towards different increasingly-engaging types of leisure. And a few of our challenges are distinctive to Epic. Regardless of Fortnite remaining one of the crucial profitable video games on this planet, we’ve had challenges delivering constant Fortnite magic with each season.”
Workers affected by the layoffs will likely be will likely be provided a minimum of 4 months of severance, “with extra primarily based on tenure”. Epic can be extending its healthcare protection and accelerating inventory choices vesting.
Sweeney has assured workers in his notice that “he layoffs aren’t associated to AI”, and that “To the extent it improves productiveness, we need to have as many superior builders creating nice content material and tech as we will.”
Circana’s Mat Piscatella shared on Bluesky that Fortnite truly led in month-to-month lively customers throughout each PlayStation and Xbox In February 2026, however that numbers had been down year-on-year — 35% of lively gamers on PlayStation spent 16 hours with the sport (in comparison with 21 in 2025), whereas Xbox gamers averaged round 15 hours this yr (versus 19 hours in 2025).
Again in 2023, the Fortnite creator laid off round 830 workers for comparable causes. However Sweeney says that the market situations of in the present day “are probably the most excessive we have seen since [1990’s and 2000’s].”
Our ideas exit to these affected, and we hope you land in your toes.
