Epic Games Is Laying Off 1,000 Employees, Blames Fortnite Underperformance

Epic Games has announced that it has laid off 1,000 employees at the company today and has blamed Fortnite’s underperformance as the reason. Despite still being one of the biggest games on the planet, Epic has indicated in recent months that Fortnite hasn’t been doing as well as it would like. Perhaps the biggest example of this was Epic’s decision to increase V-Bucks prices with Fortnite’s most recent season, which prompted backlash from players. Now, this stagnation of the battle royale game has directly led to layoffs at Epic, along with the conclusion of various modes.

In a message sent to staff today, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney revealed that mass departures would be happening at the company. Sweeney said that over 1,000 Epic employees will be impacted in total and blamed a lack of engagement with Fortnite over the past year as the reason for the move. As a result, Sweeney said that he believes Epic as a whole will now be better positioned for the future, but this round of layoffs is the second major one that the developer has had since 2024.

“Today we’re laying off over 1,000 Epic employees,” Sweeney said. “I’m sorry we’re here again. The downturn in Fortnite engagement that started in 2025 means we’re spending significantly more than we’re making, and we have to make major cuts to keep the company funded. This layoff, together with over $500 million of identified cost savings in contracting, marketing, and closing some open roles puts us in a more stable place.”

Fortnite Is Ending Support for Specific Modes

Outside of cutting jobs within Epic, various game modes within Fortnite itself are also on the chopping block. Specifically, the Rocket Racing, Ballistic, and Battle Stage game types will now be going away. These offerings were introduced to Fortnite at various times over the past few years to help give the game more depth outside of its main battle royale mode. Instead, these modes didn’t seem to resonate with players, which has prompted Epic to now remove them from the game.

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Moving forward, it doesn’t seem like any additional game modes in Fortnite will be impacted. The core battle royale (and Zero Build) options are clearly here to stay for the long haul, as are Fortnite OG, LEGO Fortnite, and Fortnite Festival. If Fortnite as a whole doesn’t begin to bounce back in the way that Epic wants in the months and years to come then these modes could eventually be impacted, but such a move seems to not be anywhere on the horizon.

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