Epic Games, the company behind the live-service behemoth Fortnite and the makers of the ubiquitous game-design software Unreal Engine 5, announced plans to lay off more than 1,000 employees on March 24 in response to “industry-wide challenges” and a “downturn in Fortnite engagement that started in 2025.” The news came via a blog post on Epic’s official website and was first reported by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier.
In the post, CEO Tim Sweeney trots out the usual phrases we’ve all become far too familiar with over the past several years: “Some of the challenges we’re facing are industry-wide challenges: slower growth, weaker spending, and tougher cost economics; current consoles selling less than last generation’s; and games competing for time against other increasingly-engaging forms of entertainment.”
