When you think of the big hitters in terms of free-to-play games, the seemingly untouchable trio of Apex Legends, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Fortnite rule the roost in the microtransaction market. Sadly, it looks like at least one of them is fudging the numbers, as massive layoffs have hit Epic Games.
Not only known as the father of Fortnite, Epic Games has the likes of Rocket League on the books. Most recently, it acquired Fall Guys developer Mediatonic. Instead of becoming a gaming giant like Microsoft by acquiring multiple studios, Epic admitted it was spending more than its resources.
Fortnite hits with massive layoffs
In the same week that SEGA has stopped laughing at HYENAS, Epic has announced mass layoffs of 830 staff. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney sent an email to staff (shared via a Blog post), explaining what’s going on at the beleaguered publisher.
Sweeney said that while Fortnite is starting to grow again, it’s in the creator content sector, which accounts for the majority of revenue. Despite net zero hiring and reduced operating expenses on marketing choices, Sweeney admitted that Epic “Ended with little financial stability.“
To say that dismissal is “The only way“Sweeney claims that the foot should now be amputated (and to that extent) to save the leg.
Two-thirds of the layoff”Beyond basic development,” advises Fortnite’s big fish to be largely safe from the bite. Fortnite will prioritize Fortnite’s next season, Chapter 5, the codenamed “Del Mar” Fortnite racing game, and the “Juno” codenamed LEGO collab.
Fortnite ‘Share the Wealth’ captures emotion.
With tensions running high at Epic — and an angry legion of players calling out the company’s tactics — now might not be the best time to splash the cash. In a case of unfortunate timing, Epic has pulled the “Share the Wealth” emote from the Fortnite Shop.
The Fortnite Shop has been planned weeks in advance, meaning no one could have known that the literal passion of throwing dollar bills would be able to be bought on the same day that 830 people were losing their jobs. One player laughed.Bruh 💀 Epic is really emotional on them.“While the other said,”This is very funny of them.“
Along with Travis Scott and “Bearhug” Emmott, “Share the Wealth” may find himself on the ban list. Then, it’s more likely that “Share the Wealth” will just be taken out of the shop. With the departure of Donald Mustard and the announcement of a price hike for V-Bucks, the timing couldn’t be worse for Epic Games.