Epic Games, the developer of Fortnite, has laid off more than 1,000 people.

Epic Games, the developer of the popular battle royale game

https://www.epicgames.com/site/en-US/news/todays-layoffs

Fortnite Maker Epic Games Cuts About 1,000 Jobs Across Company - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-24/fortnite-maker-epic-games-cuts-about-1-000-jobs-across-company

Epic Games to cut more than 1,000 jobs as 'Fortnite' usage falls | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/epic-games-said-tuesday-that-it-will-lay-off-more-than-1000-employees-2026-03-24/

Fortnite maker Epic is laying off over 1,000 workers | The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/games/899529/epic-games-layoffs-fortnite

On March 24, 2026, local time, Epic Games notified its employees that it would be laying off more than 1,000 people. Epic Games explained the layoffs by saying, 'Due to the decline in Fortnite engagement that began in 2025, expenses have far exceeded revenue, and a significant reduction in staff is necessary to keep the company's funds up.'

In fact, Epic Games announced that it would be discontinuing the Rocket Racing , Ballistic , and Festival Battle Stage game modes available in Fortnite, stating that they were not appealing enough to attract many players.

https://t.co/oT6KJ9RgcD

— Fortnite Status (@FortniteStatus) March 24, 2026

In addition to these layoffs, the company stated that it will achieve cost savings of over $500 million (approximately 79 billion yen) through contracts, marketing, and the closure of some vacant positions, thereby transitioning to a more stable financial position.

Epic Games explained the reasons for the layoffs, stating, 'Some of the challenges we face are common to the entire industry. These include slowing growth, declining spending, a tight cost structure, lower sales of current-generation consoles compared to previous generations, and games competing for time with other increasingly attractive forms of entertainment.'

However, some of the challenges Epic Games faces are unique to the company, and they stated, 'Fortnite continues to be one of the most successful games in the world, but consistently delivering the unique appeal of Fortnite season after season is no easy task. The return to mobile and the work of optimizing Fortnite for billions of smartphones worldwide are still in their early stages. As pioneers in the industry, we have faced many difficulties, but the fruits of our labor are only just beginning to sprout, not only for us but for all developers.'

In addition, Epic Games emphasized that the layoffs are not due to cost reductions caused by AI, stating, 'These layoffs have nothing to do with AI. As long as it leads to increased productivity, we want to retain as many talented developers as possible and have them create great content and technology.'

Employees affected by these layoffs will receive severance pay that includes at least four months' worth of base salary, which will increase depending on their length of service. In addition, the period of coverage for the health insurance provided by Epic Games will be extended, with some employees in the US receiving six months' worth of coverage.

Epic Games has stated that it will focus on developing new content for Fortnite and Unreal Engine 6.

This latest layoff is the second large-scale reduction for Epic Games in the past three years, following a similar layoff of 830 employees in September 2023 for the same reasons.

Epic Games, the developer of Fortnite, has announced it will lay off 830 employees, representing 16% of its total workforce - GIGAZINE

by Sergiy Galyonkin

According to game industry analyst Matt Piscatella , Fortnite remains popular, and in February 2026, it will become the 'most popular game in the US in terms of monthly active users' on both PlayStation and Xbox. However, average monthly playtime is on a downward trend, with PlayStation down 5 hours year-on-year to 16 hours and Xbox down 4 hours year-on-year to 15 hours.