Epic Games lays off over 1,000 employees due to declining interest in Fortnite

Epic Games has announced the layoff of over 1,000 employees as part of a restructuring plan following a decline in player engagement in the game 'Fortnite'.

CEO Tim Sweeney stated that the company intends to save approximately 500 million dollars by reducing expenses, including marketing budgets and eliminating unfilled positions. Although 'Fortnite' was a successful post-pandemic title, player engagement has begun to decline, affecting 'live service' games that require constant new content. Sweeney emphasized that the layoffs are not related to artificial intelligence, amid concerns that it could replace developers.

This is the second major round of layoffs in the last three years, after in September 2023, Epic Games laid off approximately 830 employees.

The video game industry is facing economic challenges, and other companies, such as Electronic Arts, have also resorted to layoffs.