Fortnite dev warns of ‘hard and painful’ changes after Epic Games layoffs

Is a storm brewing? (Epic Games)

In the aftermath of layoffs at Epic Games, Fortnite developers have shared their concern over what comes next.

Despite being one of the most successful games in the world, Fortnite has still been affected by the industry-wide downturn over recent years.

Developer Epic Games let go 870 employees, from its estimated 4,000+ workforce, in 2023, amidst concerns over the game’s profitability. Now, after raising the price of V-Bucks, it’s announced a further 1,000 employees had been laid off, as it plans to shut down three of Fortnite’s gameplay modes.

While Fortnite likely won’t be going anywhere anytime soon, it’s future looks far less positive than it did a few months ago – a sentiment which has been echoed by the remaining team.

Fortnite gameplay producer Robby Williams addressed the layoffs in a thread on X, where he expressed some concern over what happens now.

‘I appreciate the outcry of support and empathy that I’ve seen from the community today, and I just ask that you please show as much love as you can offer to those that were impacted,’ Williams wrote. ‘None of them deserve this and it’s not at all reflective of their work or their impact.

‘What comes next is very hard and painful. Our teams will have to pick up the pieces and try to keep moving forward but we cannot even fully understand what kind of impacts [sic] this will have on the game for the rest of the year and likely beyond.’

He added: ‘I’ll continue to do my best to keep making the best game for you, and I’m confident that my peers feel the same, but please be patient with us as we navigate this tough time and do our best in spite of these truly gut-wrenching losses.’

While Williams isn’t directly affected by the layoffs, others who have been let go have expressed their frustration on X.

Ex-Fortnite principal engineer, Evan Kinney, wrote: ‘I am genuinely so confused and bewildered, I spent the past week debugging the rivalry system while recovering from pneumonia. And just in the past few days I’ve had multiple directors tell me how much they appreciate everything I do.

‘I have done so much for this company and our games. So many late nights. So many weekends. So many live events, and competitive events, and new features, and new seasons. Solid performance reviews every time with multiple people mentioning how critical I am and what an impact I make across multiple teams. Just to be thrown out. I don’t get it.’

Fortnite has expanded over the past few years, between its major IP crossovers and new modes like Lego Fortnite, but with these layoffs, it’s perhaps clear that Epic has pushed its popularity to an unsustainable degree.

Williams in particular seems to imply major changes and cutbacks in the future but he’s not specific about what may happen, so it’s currently difficult to tell. A focus on the core Battle Royale mode, more microtransactions, and less costly celebrity crossovers seems like a given though.

The crossovers certainly won’t stop (Epic Games)

Email [email protected], leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter.

To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.

For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.

Comments Add as preferred source