Overview
- Epic disclosed Tuesday in a memo from CEO Tim Sweeney that more than 1,000 roles were cut, leaving just over 4,000 employees and pairing the move with over $500 million in cost reductions.
- Affected staff will receive at least four months of base pay, extended healthcare coverage, accelerated stock vesting through January 2027, and up to two years to exercise equity.
- Fortnite will retire Ballistic and Festival Battle Stage on April 16 with the 40.20 update, while Rocket Racing will stay live until October 2026.
- Sweeney said a Fortnite engagement slump that began in 2025 left Epic spending more than it earns, and he stressed the cuts are not related to AI.
- Epic says it will refocus on fresher seasonal content, strengthen developer tools, and move toward Unreal Engine 6, with a company roadmap meeting set for Thursday.