Fortnite-maker Epic Games lays off another 1,000 staff

Fortnite-maker Epic Games says it is laying off more than 1,000 employees, citing a fall in engagement with its popular online game.

In a note to staff on Tuesday, Epic's chief executive Tim Sweeney apologised for the cuts - attributing them to a "downturn" in Fortnite engagement beginning in 2025.

He said this had left it "spending significantly more than we're making" and needing to "make major cuts to keep the company funded".

Sweeney's note to staff, published on Epic's website, said the latest round of layoffs, in addition to $500m (£373m) of identified cost savings across other parts of its operations, would put the company "in a more stable place".

He added it was facing both industry-wide challenges such as slowed growth, weakened spending and increased competition for user engagement from other media.

But Sweeney also acknowledged "unique" struggles for Epic - despite the continued popularity of Fortnite.

Among these, he said, were delivering "consistent Fortnite magic with every season" and a full mobile experience for smartphone users, after its lengthy legal battles with Apple and Google to allow the app on their marketplaces.

"In being the industry's vanguard we have taken a lot of bullets in a battle which is only in the early days of paying off for ourselves and all developers," Sweeney said.

"Since it's a thing now, I should note that the layoffs aren't related to AI," Sweeney said.

"To the extent it improves productivity, we want to have as many awesome developers developing great content and tech as we can."

It marks the second time in recent years that the company has laid off staff.

"I'm sorry we're here again," Sweeney told Epic employees in his note on Tuesday.