Epic Games lays off 16% of its workforce, or ~830 employees, divests from music storefront Bandcamp, and intends to spin off “kid-tech” company SuperAwesome
Earlier today Tim Sweeney sent the following email to Epic employees: Tim Sweezy / HotHardware : Epic Games Confirms Massive Layoffs After Fortnite And Metaverse Spending Spree Jamie Crawley / CoinDesk : Fortnite Developer Epic Games Lays Off 16% of Staff Following Metaverse-Inspired Transition Ashley Capoot / CNBC : Epic Games is eliminating 16% of its workforce and selling Bandcamp Brendan Sinclair / GamesIndustry.biz : Epic laying off more than 800 John Walker / Kotaku : Epic Games Cutting 870 Jobs, 16 Percent Of Its Workforce Nik Asti / Metaverse Post : Epic Games Announces Major Layoffs Amid Financial Challenges Nicole Carpenter / Polygon : Fortnite maker Epic Games, worth billions, cuts its staff by 16% Tessa Kaur / TheGamer : The Bust And Boom Cycle Of The Gaming Industry Will Destroy It Emre Çitak / Ghacks : Epic Games layoff will affect around 870 employees Luke Jones / WinBuzzer : Songtradr Acquires Bandcamp amidst Epic Games' Strategic Shifts Hisan Kidwai / Android Headlines : Epic Games cuts 870 jobs amidst economic hurdles Brad Hill / RAIN News : Songtradr acquires Bandcamp, promises continuity and new opportunities Anthonia Isichei / crypto.news : Epic Games announces layoffs as expenses exceed revenue Andrew Hayward / Decrypt : Epic Games Is Jacking Up the Price of Fortnite V-Bucks Nicholas Kitonyi / NFTgators : Epic Games' Transition to the Metaverse Leaves 16% of Staff Jobless Rachel Kaser / VentureBeat : Epic lays off about 900 people, divests Bandcamp and SuperAwesome Matt Wales / Eurogamer.net : Epic Games is reportedly laying off around 900 employees Sahana Kiran / Watcher Guru : Fortnite Creator Firm Slashes 16% Staff Post Metaverse ‘Reality Check’ Rebecca Graham / Silicon Republic : Epic Games lays off 16pc of staff, sells Bandcamp Hassan Shittu / Cryptonews : Epic Games Trims Workforce by 16% Due to Unrealistic Metaverse Revenue Projections Mercy Tukiya Mutanya / Coinspeaker : Fortnite Creator Epic Games to Lay Off 16% of Staff Nickie Louise / TechStartups : Epic Games is laying off 16 percent of its employees, or about 830 of its workforce Alessio Palumbo / Wccftech : Epic Founder Explains Massive Layoffs, Says Development and Core Initiatives Are Unaffected Danny D'Cruze / Business Today : Tech Layoffs: Fortnite-maker Epic Games lays off 16% employees Petter Hegevall / Gamereactor UK : Epic Games fires 870 employees Music Ally : Epic Games lays off 16% of its staff alongside Bandcamp sale Kieron Verbrugge / Press Start : Epic Games Is Laying Off Nearly 900 Staff Amid Growth In Fortnite Ravi Sinha / GamingBolt : Fall Guys Developer Mediatonic Affected by Epic Games Layoffs - Report Malak Saleh / Engadget : Epic Games is laying off 16 percent of its workforce and selling Bandcamp Brandon Vigliarolo / The Register : Epic cut: Fortnite games maker culls 16% of staff Steve Vegvari / MobileSyrup : Epic Games lays off over 800 employees in latest effort to cut costs Pocket Gamer.biz : Epic and Sega announce 900 more games industry lay-offs Shawn Knight / TechSpot : Epic Games is laying off nearly 900 employees, and selling Bandcamp Kevin Hurler / Gizmodo : Epic Games Is Selling Bandcamp and Having Not-So-Epic Layoffs, WRAL TechWire : Epic sells two acquisitions (Bandcamp, SuperAwesome) in addition to layoffs Clare Duffy / CNN : Epic Games to lay off 16% of its workforce Shannon Thaler / New York Post : ‘Fortnite’ maker Epic Games laying off 16% of workforce Kate Irwin / Decrypt : Fortnite Maker Epic Games Cuts 830 Staff as CEO Calls Layoffs ‘Only Way’ Andrea Shearon / Destructoid : Epic Games cuts 16% of its workforce Marcus Stewart / Game Informer : Epic Games Lays Off Over 800 Employees Laurent Giret / Thurrott : Epic Games is Laying Off 16% of Its Employees MacDailyNews : Beleaguered Epic Games lays off 870 employees BBC : Fortnite maker Epic Games cutting 16% of workforce Max Miceli / Dot Esports : Epic Games is laying off 16 percent of employees after raising Fortnite V-Bucks price Agne Cimermanaite / Metaverse Post : Fortnite Developer Epic Games Slashes 900 Jobs, 16% of Workforce Connor Makar / VG247 : Fortnite creator Epic Games reportedly plans to lay off around 900 employees Eddie Makuch / GameSpot : Epic Games Games Cuts Almost 900 Jobs In Video Game Industry's Latest Mass Layoff Rick Smith / WRAL TechWire : Fortnite publisher Epic Games is laying off hundreds - 16% of staff George Foster / TheGamer : Epic Games Is Laying Off Nearly 900 Employees Reuters : Epic Games is laying off roughly 900 employees - Bloomberg News Aisha Malik / TechCrunch : Fortnite maker Epic Games is laying off 16% of its workforce, impacting 870 people Justin Carter / Game Developer : Epic Games lays off 900, partially due to Fortnite's “creator-driven” shift Chris Scullion / Video Games Chronicle : Epic Games is reportedly laying off 16% of its staff Jason Schreier / Bloomberg : ‘Fortnite’ Maker Epic Games Is Cutting About 16% of Staff Songtradr : Music licensing marketplace Songtradr acquires Bandcamp and plans to keep operating Bandcamp as a marketplace and community with an artist-first revenue share Threads: Dare Obasanjo / @carnage4life : Epic, creator of Fortnite and Unreal Engine, lays of 830 people (16% of employees) citing “spending way more money than we earn.” I assume Fortnite being unavailable on iOS hasn't helped their finances. This is one place where sticking to their principles has hurt the company financially. … Mastodon: @CrowsLabyrinth@mastodon.social : Epic Games is divesting from Bandcamp. — I really hope this doesn't impact the platform too much. A gazillion indie artists depend on this platform for selling music, physical media and merch. — https://www.theverge.com/... Bluesky: @ghostdrone.bsky.social : They are gonna ruin Bandcamp, aren't they? : ( [embedded post] @crowslabyrinth.com : Epic Games is divesting from Bandcamp. I really hope this doesn't impact the platform too much. A gaziliion indie artists depend on this platform for selling music, physical media and merch. [embedded post] @herodedalus.bsky.social : Big Bandcamp news. This affects all your favorite bands that aren't on major labels. [embedded post] X: Jason Schreier / @jasonschreier : NEWS: Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite and Unreal Engine, is laying off a whopping 16% of employees (or around 900 people), sources tell Bloomberg News. More to come Jason Schreier / @jasonschreier : This morning, rumors were flying as Epic disabled Slack for employees ahead of the news. Laid-off Epic employees will receive six months severance and health benefits. All-hands meeting happening shortly. Story being updated as I learn more: https://www.bloomberg.com/... Jason Schreier / @jasonschreier : Epic is also divesting from two previous acquisitions, sources say. It is selling music site Bandcamp to the marketer Songtradr and spinning out marketing company SuperAwesome to operate independently. Jason Schreier / @jasonschreier : MORE: Epic boss Tim Sweeney says in email to staff: - “For a while now, we've been spending way more money than we earn” - Fortnite Creator profit margins not as big as Fortnite was - 870 jobs eliminated, but Epic is still hiring - No more layoffs planned https://www.bloomberg.com/... Del Walker / @thecarteldel : It's the small Mediatonic team that made Fall Guys, found huge success, got bought by Epic, only to be laid off this week, that I feel for the most. @absintheuse : Unfortunately looks like I'm part of Epic's layoffs today, so if anyone knows of awesome roles send em my way. Things I love/have experience in: ⭐️Brand & marketing ⭐️Creative direction (art & editorial) ⭐️Leadership, management & team growing ⭐️Ops, process and pipeline creation Gav Va / @gav_va : Seeing that a large chunk of these layoffs are Mediatonic, which would mean Epic bought out the devs and game, made it exclusive to their store, forced it to be F2P with a battle pass and shop, the game fell off due to both of this, and now they're punished for Epic's decisions @mikeisaac : goddammit. Please “marketing company song trader” do not mess up one of the last good music tech companies for artists @caseyexplosion : What's happening in the games industry is utterly fucked, so many livelihoods at risk, employees in volatile positions, yet from an industry that's raking in more cash than ever? It's despicable. Andy Robinson / @andy_vgc : The corporate games industry is making itself look like a joke this year. Look how many incredible games have been released since January, then look at the ridiculous number of redundancies at these companies👎 Vadim Yuryev / @vadimyuryev : I guess this tech recession is hitting EVERYONE. I wonder if this means more gamers have had to get jobs now so they're not at home playing as much anymore? Lol jk. It has to do with interest rates. Previously, companies like Epic Games could borrow cash for 2.5%. Not anymore. LinkedIn: Pavel Mamaev : Epic laid off 16% of it's staff today, but the most insightful revelation to me came from Tom Sweeney's letter about these layoffs, in particular this quote: … Alvaro García Martínez : It is a year full of turbulences in the game industry. Really sad news, and all my support to anyone affected, it sucks. Colan Neese : To say my jaw hit the floor when I saw this is a understatement. This has been a wild week across gaming / tech and I personally know too many people who have been impacted by “cuts”. … Forums: Hacker News : Epic Games is laying off 16% of its staff r/indieheads : Amidst layoffs, Epic Games has sold Bandcamp to music licensing company Songtradr r/unrealengine : Epic laying off some people r/gamingnews : Fortnite maker Epic Games, worth billions, cuts its staff by 16% r/Games : NEWS: Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite and Unreal Engine, is laying off a whopping 16% of employees (or around 900 people), sources tell Bloomberg News. … r/pcgaming : NEWS: Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite and Unreal Engine, is laying off a whopping 16% of employees (or around 900 people), sources tell Bloomberg News. … See also Mediagazer